RADICAN’S 9/22 ROH “Death Before Dishonor XV” PPV report – Cody vs. Suzuki, Young Bucks vs. MCMG, KUSHIDA vs. King

RADICAN’S ROH “DEATH BEFORE DISHONOR XV” PPV REPORT
SEPT. 22, 2017
LAS VEGAS, NEV.
AIRED LIVE ON PPV & FITE TV

Ian Riccaboni and Colt Cabana ran down the card after the opening video package aired.

(1) The Kingdom (T.K. O’Ryan & Vinny Marseglia & Matt Taven) vs. The Briscoes (Mark & Jay Briscoe) & Bully Ray in a ROH SIx Man Tag Team Championship #1 Contender match. The winning team will face The Young Bucks and Hangman Page later in the show if The Young Bucks can find Hangman Page, who went missing on Being the Elite. The announcers noted that The Briscoes and Bully haven’t been getting along lately. The Kingdom hit a series of moves on Jay for a 2 count during the early going. Mark tagged in, but he was quickly cut off. Bully got the tag and O’Ryan wanted no part of him. O’Ryan got on his knees and begged off. Bully then went to town on him with chops and punches. O’Ryan ducked a big chop from Bully and went to work on him in the corner. Bully fired back quickly with a backdrop. Bully then backdropped everyone in The Kingdom. He hit a Rock bottom on T.K., but the pin got broken up. The action broke down as everyone ended up brawling to the floor. Mark hit T.K. with a Cactus elbow. A short time later, Taven wiped out a pile of men with a big splash. O’Ryan faked a springboard to the floor, which is how he got hurt when he injured himself. Jay then wiped out The Kingdom with a big dive. Bully went up top and wiped out The Kingdom with a splash to the floor.

The ref was distracted and Mark had his leg wrapped around the ringpost by Taven and Vinny. The Kingdom isolated Mark and put the boots to him. Mark mounted a comeback and made the hot tag to Bully, who ran wild on The Kingdom. Jay tagged himself in and Bully looked upset. Jay got pushed into Bully on the apron and Bully went flying to the floor. The Kingdom then went to work on Jay with a series of triple team maneuvers. Jay took a German and a slingshot stomp, but he managed to kick out. Marseglia went for a swanton, but Jay got his knees up. He tagged in Mark, who went to town on The Kingdom. The crowd seemed pretty dead at this point. Mark hit a DVD on T.K. and went up top, but T.K. cut him off. Bully got T.K. on his shoulders and Mark came off the top for the doomsday device and it was good for the win.

Winners: The Briscoes & Bully Ray to become the new ROH World Six Man Tag Team Championship #1 Contenders

Star rating: (**½) – This had some bright spots, but the crowd was totally dead when The Kingdom was on offense.

Jay seemed upset after the match. He ended up tossing a chair at O’Ryan.

Ian Riccaboni announced Kenny Omega would be at all four Global Wars events in October. They then asked where’s Hangman? If he doesn’t show, The Young Bucks will have to defend the titles in a 2 vs. 3 match.

They showed Bullet Club looking for Hangman Page. Matt said said the stooges had taken everything from them including Hangman Page. He said if anyone sees Hangman Page to let an ROH official know.

(2) Marty Scurll vs. Chuck Taylor. Scurll got a nice pop coming out for the match. Taylor hit a flurry of offense capped by a dropkick to take down Scurll during the early going. Taylor went for a slingshot, but Scurll moved and shoved him into the guardrail. He then nailed Taylor with a big kick from the apron to the floor. Scurll went after Taylor’s arm once they got back into the ring. Scurll set up for the chicken wing, but Taylor nailed him with an enzuguri. The announcers asked why Scurll calls it out before he does it. Taylor went for a suplex a short time later, but Scurll countered it into a brainbuster. He did the chicken wing dance again and grabbed Taylor, but he couldn’t get him down to the mat. Taylor struggled, but managed to get to the ropes. Scurll charged at Taylor, but got suplexed into the turnbuckles. Taylor hit a falcon arrow, but Scurll managed to kick out at 2. Taylor went for a moonsault, but Scurll ducked it and hit a superkick. Scurll hit a running kick and then hit a diving DDT to the floor. Scurll hit a folding powerbomb for a 2 count. He charged at Taylor a short time later, but got caught with a sit-out powerbomb for a 2 count. Scurll grabbed Taylor’s fingers a short time later, but he hit sole food. Taylor went up top, but Scurll cut him off.

Scurll grabbed his fingers and snapped them apart. Scurll hit a superplex, but Taylor folded over into a pinning combination for a near fall. Scurll hit a superkick and both men were down. Taylor caught Marty charging at him and hit the awful waffle, but Scurll got his foot on the bottom rope at the last second. Taylor followed up with a big flip dive a short time later. Taylor hit a big cannonball splash over the guardrail a short time later. Scurll got on top of Taylor and put his feet on the ropes, but the ref saw it. Scurll shoved the ref and he shoved him right into a pin from Taylor for a near fall. Scurll dragged the ref in front of Taylor and grabbed the chicken wing. Taylor was forced to tap.

Winner: Marty Scurll

Star rating: (**¾) – This was a solid match. They threw in a lot of near falls to make it seem like Taylor had a chance of winning, but it seemed inevitable that Scurll would win. These two are capable of having a great match, but the way this was structured didn’t allow for that.

(3) Jay White vs. Punishment Martinez in a Las Vegas Street Fight. White attacked Martinez from behind while he was making his entrance. White hit a big dive and they were off to the races. Martinez fired back and hit a big spinning kick on White, who was holding a chair. Martinez slammed a trashcan lid into White’s head when he went for a dive. He slammed him onto the trashcan on the outside a short time later. Martinez went for a springboard inside the ring, but White tossed a chair at him. Martinez charged at White, but he countered it into a flatliner onto the chair. White then went to town on Martinez’s back with several chair shots. The crowd was dead for the action. White then hit a German on the chair for a 2 count. Martinez fired back a short time later and hit a couple of big chair shots to Jay’s back. A chant for White started up. Martinez set up several chairs in-between the turnbuckles. They went back and forth and White ended up suplexing Martinez into the chairs for a 2 count. The fans fired up for White again. Martinez told him to bring it, but White put the trashcan lid down. White hit several strikes and Martinez fired back with a kick to the head. Martinez caught White with a kick to the chest as he charged at him in the corner. Martinez then hit a huge splash over the ringpost to the floor! WOW!

The fans fired up after Martinez’s big spot. Martinez went up top, but White popped up and nailed him with a chairshot. White hit a uranagi off the top for a 2 count. White hit the kiwi crusher, but Martinez kicked out the last second. Cabana said nobody had ever kicked out of that move in ROH. The fans sure didn’t react like it was a big deal that Martinez kicked out. White set up a chair structure in the middle of the ring. They went back and forth and Martinez countered White and hit a jackknife powerbomb into the chairs! Martinez then hit a burning hammer on White through the chairs, but White kicked out. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Martinez grabbed a bag and it had thumbtacks in it. He dumped them onto the mat and set up for a choke slam, but White went down to one knee. White slapped Martinez across the face, but Martinez picked him up and choke slammed him into the tacks for the win.

Winner: Punishment Martinez

Star rating: (***¾) – This started a little slow, but they ended up having a really good match. The crowd got into during the second half behind White. White’s kickouts at the end were a bit much for me, but the fans enjoyed it.

The announcers wondered if Hangman Page was going to make it for the ROH Six Man Championship match. The Briscoes came out first. Bully came out with him and asked Jay if he was alright. The Young Bucks came out next and they looked upset. They held up the where’s Hangman Page sign. Hangman Page never came down to the ring. Page suddenly ran into the ring and he was duck taped.

(4) ROH World Six Man Tag Team Champions and ROH World Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson) & Hangman Page vs. The Briscoes (Mark & Jay Briscoe) & Bully Ray. Page wiped out The Briscoes with his mouth taped and his hands taped together and the fans lost their minds. The fans chanted welcome back, but Jay ran in and wiped them all out. That moonsault was insane! Page hit Hangman’s lariat, but Bully wiped him out. He then wiped out both of The Young Bucks. The Young Bucks finally fired back and nailed him with a double superkick. The Young Bucks went for more bang for your buck on Bully, but he fought Matt off and hit a Bully bomb. Nick came off the top, but ate a cutter. They then hit what’s up on Matt. Bully told the crowd to chant get the tables. The fans then started a big tables chant. Suddenly Jay hit Bully with the table. I didn’t see that coming. Mark sold shock on the outside. Jay walked away and Page made the cover for the win.

The announcers said this was the first time Bully had been pinned in ROH. Jay told Mark they are the best tag team on the planet and not Bully. Mark then went to check on Bully. They showed a replay and the table appeared to hit Bully at a nasty angle on the edge, but it was tough to tell.

Winners: The Young Bucks & Hangman Page to retain the ROH World Six Man Championship

Star rating: (**) – This was fine while it lasted, but it was more about the conflict between Jay and Bully finally coming to a head.

A video package aired for the KUSHIDA vs. Kenny King ROH World TV Title match.

(5) ROH World TV Champion and NJPW Jr. Hvt. Champion KUSHIDA vs. Kenny King in a ROH World TV Title match. KUSHIDA’s mom and King’s daughter are in attendance for this match. KUSHIDA got the better of King on the mat and King went to the floor to get a hug from his daughter. King got the better of an exchange with KUSHIDA, who went to get some advice from his mom. King hit a chin checker over his knee and floated over into a last chancery. They said it was a shout out to King’s pal, but they did not mention Aries by name. King missed a dive to the floor and landed on his feet. KUSHIDA then sent King into the guardrail right in front of his daughter. KUSHIDA showed respect to King’s daughter. He then got a chair, got a running start, and jumped onto the chair into a dropkick on King against the guardrail. KUSHIDA set King’s elbow up at a bad angle and stepped down on it. He continued to target King’s arm. KUSHIDA got cattle mutilation, but King managed to get to the ropes. KUSHIDA hit a Pele kick on King. He then nailed King with a big kick to his arm. King finally blocked a kick from KUSHIDA and hit a spinning kick. King hit a pair of clotheslines and the fans fired up.

King went on the attack and hit a spinning heel kick. He posed for the crowd before making the cover for a 2 count. The fans went silent again with King on offense. KUSHIDA suddenly countered King and got a triangle. He transitioned to an arm bar. He went back to a triangle, but King powerbombed out of it. KUSHIDA jumped off the apron. King caught him, but KUSHIDA hit a hurricanrana that sent King into the ringpost. KUSHIDA then hit a big swanton to the floor to wipe King out and the fans went nuts. KUSHIDA hit a DDT and rolled through into the hoverboard lock, but King got to the ropes quickly. King caught KUSHIDA coming off the top and rolled through. He went for the TKO, but KUSHIDA blocked it. KUSHIDA got the hoverboard lock in the middle of the ring. KUSHIDA really worked over King’s armKing tried to stand up and eventually managed to suplex his way out of the hold. They battled up top and KUSHIDA ended up hitting a DDT on King’s arm. KUSHIDA floated around King and got the hoverboard lock again. King struggled and went for the ropes. King got KUSHIDA up, but he slipped out. KUSHIDA and KIng traded strikes. KUSHIDA hit the baseball punch, but King fired back with a spinebuster and both men were down! The fans woke up and chanted for both men. They exchanged blows from their knees. They got up and continued to trade blows. KUSHIDA kicked at KIng’s bad arm. He went for a springboard, but King got him on his shoulders. KUSHIDA went for a hurricanrana, but King countered it into the royal flush for the win. WOW!

Winner: Kenny King to become the new ROH World TV Champion

Star rating: (****) – This was a great match that built and built as it went on. King took everything KUSHIDA had to dish out, as KUSHIDA targeted his arm throughout the match. King’s counter into the royal flush for the finish was great.

King’s daughter came into the ring to celebrate with him after the match. KUSHIDA raised King’s hand and showed respect before leaving King alone to celebrate with his daughter.

(6) Jay Lethal vs. Silas Young in a Last Man Standing match. They brawled to the floor quickly. Silas ended up on the guardrail, but Lethal cut him off and suplexed him to the floor. Lethal lifted up the mat on the floor and hit a side Russian leg sweep. Young fired back a short time later and suplexed him onto the apron. Young took off Bobby Cruise’s belt. Cabana called his actions inappropriate. Riccaboni said he wished Young was undressing Bobby Cruise. I’ll just leave that little sequence alone. Lethal countered Young inside the ring. He whipped Young across the back. Young told him if he wants to be a man to hit him. Lethal went to town on Young and hit him over and over with the belt. Young went to floor and Lethal continued to whip him. Lethal whipped Young back into the ring and the fans went nuts. Young’s back was just brutal to look at. The Beer City Bruiser came down to the ring and managed to cut off Lethal. Young and Bruiser worked together to wear down Lethal. Bruiser favored his leg while working over Leal. On the outside, Young set up a table. He put Lethal on the table. The Bruiser went up top very slowly. Young tried to boost Bruiser as he jumped off the top, but Lethal got out of the way! Lethal hit an RKO through a table on the outside on Young a short time later off the apron that the cameras missed. How do you miss that shot!?

The odds were back to even with Bruiser down and out on the outside. Lethal and Young traded blows back inside the ring. Young got the belt and the fans gasped. Young began whipping Lethal with the belt. Young whipped Lethal over and over. He then hit the back breaker/clothesline combination. The ref began the 10 count, but Lethal managed to beat it. Young got a chair and went to work on Lethal. He paused to let the ref count, but Lethal managed to get up again. They went back and forth and Lethal hit the Lethal combination on a chair. The ref began counting for Silas, but Lethal broke up the count by hitting him across the back with a chair. Lethal went to the floor to get some tape. Lethal began to tied Young’s hand to the apron, but the ref distracted him. Young managed to free himself and he shoved Lethal right into the ref. That looked rough for Todd Sinclair. Lethal came up bleeding after that spot. The ref got up and began counting for Lethal, but he started to get up. Young hit misery and Lethal was very slow to get up. Young then stopped the count. He stood behind Lethal and hit the Lethal injection! The fans gasped and seemed to clap in shock that Young hit the Lethal injection! The ref began counting out Lethal. The count reached 9 and Lethal barely managed to get up. Young went under the ring and got a ladder, but Lethal tripped him face first into it when he got into the ring.

Lethal suddenly hit a Lethal injection, but Young got up. Lethal hit a second Lethal injection. The ref began counting again. Lethal pushed the ladder out of the ring and set it up on the floor. Young began to stir and managed to get to his feet before the ref counted to 10. Lethal got a table from under the ring, but he ended up collapsing. Lethal set up Young on the table a short time later. He then set up for hail for the king off the top of the ladder. The fans chanted please don’t die. Young popped up and cut him off. He got a zip tie and tried to tie LEthal’s hand to the ladder. Young manage to tie Lethal’s wrist to the top of the ladder. Both men began exchanging blows. The ladder tipped over and both men went through the ladder. Holy s–t! That was insane! The ref began counting for both men. Lethal’s hand appeared to slip free when they went through the table. Young managed to get up just in time to beat the count. WOW!

Winner: Silas Young

Star rating: (****¼) – These matches tend to drag because the ref is counting over and over, but they did a nice job of building up the match before going to the ref count spots. This is a HUGE win for Young if ROH capitalizes on it. Young is an extremely underrated performer in the business.

The MCMG were featured in a video package ahead of their ROH World Tag Team Title match against The Young Bucks.

(7) ROH World Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson) vs. MCMG (Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin). The Young Bucks went for the Indytaker early on Shelley, but he managed to escape. Sabin cut off Nick and tagged in Shelley. Nick ducked a double team move in the corner and both teams went back and forth. The MCMG went for a sequence of moves, but The Young Bucks countered it. Both teams continued to counter their signature sequences. All four men then went for dropkicks at the same time to come to a stalemate. The cameras missed a shot of Nick wiping out Shelley. The Young Bucks then wiped out Sabin with a headscissors/dropkick combination on the apron. The Young Bucks hit a swinging neck breaker into a backbreaker on Shelley, but Sabin broke up the pin. The pace picked up and the MCMG got the upper hand and hit a combination of moves on Matt capped by a DDT and the fans booed.

The MCMG hit tandem splashes to the floor and went to work on Nick inside the ring. The MCMG hit the dream sequence on Matt. Riccaboni even shouted out Trent Acid, which was awesome. The young Bucks mounted a comeback. Matt hit an inverted Spanish fly on Sabin. He then went to the floor and nailed Shelley with a superkick and the fans fired up. The MCMG hit a doomsday missile dropkick on Matt, but he landed on his feet. The Young Bucks then got double sharpshooters on the MCMG, but they both managed to get to the ropes! Nick accidentally punted Matt a short time later on the apron. Shelley nailed him with a superkick and hit sliced bread off the ringpost and the fans fired up HUGE. WOW! The MCMG set up for made in Detroit and connected, but Matt kicked out at 2! WOW! The announcers mentioned that move had put down War Machine. Both teams went back and forth trading superkicks. Matt ended up accidentally superkicking the ref. The Addiction suddenly ran down. The Addition put the boots to the MCMG with The Young Bucks down on the outside. Sabin sent Daniels packing. He then took out Kazarian with a superkick. The Young Bucks got back into the ring. They got the double sharpshooter again, but The Addiction broke it up. The Addiction sent MCMG out of the ring and the fans started chanting TNA. The Young Bucks blocked a best Meltzer ever on Shelley. The Young Bucks and The MCMG then worked together to hit a double IndyTaker on The Addiction. Holy s–t! The fans went nuts and both teams faced off in the middle of the ring before going at it. The Young Bucks got the upper hand and went for more bang for your buck on Shelley. He countered it and Sabin jumped off his back and hit a German off the top on Matt. The MCMG then finished off Matt with a tandem slam for the win. WOW!

Winners: Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley to become the new ROH World Tag Team Champions

Star rating: (***¾) – This was a fun sprint. They fit a lot in a short amount of time and told a good story about both teams working together to get rid of The Addiction so they could go at it alone. The interference and ref bump, a Delirious staple, felt forced, but overall this was good.

Nick was angry after the match and grabbed the belts from the ref. The fans chanted fight forever at them. Matt and Nick both looked pained, but they handed the titles to the MCMG and walked away.

Minoru Suzuki got a big pop coming out for the match. Cody came out next and Vegas showgirls were on the entrance ramp. Brandi came out dressed in an American flag outfit. Cody then came out with his title and ring. Brandi kissed the ring and escorted Cody down to the ring with the showgirls.

Bobby Cruise did the formal introductions for the main event. Suzuki got a good reaction and went after Cody, but the ref got in his way.

(8) ROH World Champion Cody (w/Brandi) vs. NEVER Openweight Champion Minoru Suzuki. The bell rang and the fans chanted for Suzuki. COdy asked Suzuki to kiss his ring, but he bit his fingers and went for a Fujiwara armbar. Cody got to the ropes and went to the floor. Cody indicated to Suzuki he wanted to trade blows. He got in a boxing stance and ended up taking a couple of punches from Suzuki before going to the floor. Suzuki hit some kicks to Cody’s legs and he went back to the floor. Suzuki ended up lying down on the mat and he told Cody to get into the ring. Suzuki spread his legs and told Cody to bring it and Cody covered Brandi’s eyes. Suzuki went for a kick off the apron to the floor, but he dragged Bradi in the way. Suzuki held up and Cody tripped him into the apron. He then tossed Suzuki into the ringpost. Cody hit some big chops on the outside and Suzuki told him to bring it. Suzuki absorbed several chops and told Cody to bring it again. Suzuki smiled on the mat, but Cody stomped on his wrist and ankle. Cody made a cover, but Suzuki kicked out at 1 and smiled. Cody cut Suzuki off a short time later when he tried to get into the ring and hit a dragon screw on his leg around the ropes. Suzuki caught Cody in an arm bar in the ropes a short time later. Suzuki fired up and went on the attack. He grabbed a cross-arm bar, but Cody got his foot on the bottom rope to break the hold.

Suzuki began working over Cody’s arm inside the ring. Suzuki had a guillotine, but Cody powered out and dumped him to the mat. Cody applied the crossface and then led the crowd in a yes chant. Riccaboni said he was sending a message to the American dragon. Cody managed to get to his feet when Suzuki got an ankle lock. Suzuki got the sleeper on the mat a short time later. Cody stood up and Suzuki continued to crank on the hold. He told the fans to shut up and went for the Gotch piledriver, but Cody blocked it. Suzuki almost got the hold, but Cody fought out only to eat a knee. Cody hit the disaster kick, but Suzuki didn’t go down. Suzuki slid behind Cody off the ropes, but Cody hit cross rhodes and it was good for the win.

Winner: Cody Rhodes to retain the ROH World Title

Star rating: (***¼) – There was a lot of stalling during this match and playing to the crowd. It finally got going after about six minutes and then it ended. This was another disappointing main event title defense for Cody.

After the match, Cody made the ref kiss the ring. The ref then kissed the ring and Cody headed to the back with Brandi. Suzuki recovered after the match and began attacking ringside attendants. He teased hitting Cary Silkin, but Todd Sinclair dragged him away. Riccaboni and Cabana then signed off before plugging the Global Wars tour in the fall.

Overall thoughts: (8.0) – The main event between Suzuki and Cody was a bit of a letdown if you were looking for a classic ROH main event style of match. There was a lot of stalling, it was short, and just when it got going it ended without much drama. This was reminiscent of Cody’s title defense against SANADA in England last match. A lot of playing to the crowd and stalling, but not much action.

There was some really good stuff on the undercard. The show peaked at the midway point with excellent matches between KUSHIDA and Kenny King and Silas Young vs. Jay Lethal. For the first time in awhile, it felt like ROH was actually getting behind someone new in a meaningful way. Young and King both needed big wins and they got them.

The replay is definitely worth checking out on PPV or on FITE.TV Thumbs up!

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