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ROH GLOBAL WARS
NOVEMBER 9, 2018
BUFFALO, NY AT BUFFALO RIVERWORKS
AIRED ON ROH HONOR CLUB
REPORT BY HARLEY R. PAGEOT, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Commentary: Ian Riccaboni, Colt Cabana, Caprice Coleman
We opened in the arena with the sounds of “SCU!” and Christopher Daniels and Frankie Kazarian made their way to the ring in street clothes. They said Scorpio Sky was at a wedding and couldn’t be there. He texted them to tell Buffalo that it’s the worst town he’s ever been in, though. Daniels sent positive vibes to Thousand Oaks, California following the latest senseless incident of gun violence. ROH COO Joe Koff was shown applauding in the crowd.
-The commentators checked in for the first time and ran down some of the matches on the card.
-Two of the six-man champions, “the real ROH world champion” Matt Taven and VinnY Marseglia, were out next for the opening contest. Their opponents, The Boys, came out without Dalton Castle. Taven stone-faced the code of honor from the Boys before jumping them and pummeling them to the mat. Unlike the previous two nights of this tour, the bell didn’t ring the instant someone attacked their opponent. Taven whipped Brandon across the back with a belt. He took a high back body drop at ringside and Marseglia tore up a mat to expose the concrete. Marseglia hit a brainbuster on the concrete floor. He rolled Brent into the ring to Taven, along with a steel chair. Taven lawn-darted Brent into a steel chair that he had wedged into the turnbuckles. The commentators questioned where Castle was. Marseglia threw two more chairs into the ring as well as Brandon. Taven said this will continue until Castle comes out to stop him. He and Marseglia were slow and methodical throughout all of this, showing no emotion. They lined up both Boys in the ring, laying them across some chairs.
Castle’s music hit and he walked out onto the stage. He called Taven a son of a bitch and told him to keep his hands off his Boys. He asked what he wanted and Taven said he wanted Castle to show him the respect he deserves. Taven challenged Castle to face him for his real ROH world title at Final Battle. TK O’Ryan ambushed Castle from behind, hitting with his six-man title belt and shoving him into a concrete wall. O’Ryan knocked Castle off the stage, then he and Marseglia dragged him to the ring. Taven went after him with right hands. Security tried to intervene but The Kingdom batted them away with their chairs. Referee Paul Turner tried to pull O’Ryan off Castle. Taven and Marseglia left and O’Ryan suggested Turner ring the bell for his scheduled singles match against Castle.
(1) ROH WORLD SIX-MAN TAG TEAM CHAMPION TK O’RYAN vs. DALTON CASTLE
Snapmare. Elbow drop. O’Ryan dumped him to the floor. Castle came back with some right hands and hurled O’Ryan into the guardrail. O’Ryan regained control quickly and choked Castle with his wrist tape. Castle hit a DDT at 5:40 but O’Ryan took over again. Castle finally hit a Bang-A-Rang out of nowhere for the win.
WINNER: Dalton Castle in 7:58.
-Castle took a microphone. He acknowledged that he’s still banged-up and bandaged up. He said Taven’s title is fake but the fire he ignited in Castle is real. He accepted the Final Battle invitation and declared, “You’re done, jackass!”
(Pageot’s Perspective: A surprisingly long match considering the length of the pre-match beatdown. You could say it makes O’Ryan look completely weak that he couldn’t put away Castle after everything that came before but O’Ryan and Marseglia are essentially just stooges anyway and we needed a feel-good spot after what happened to the Boys. This is our first official match for the final pay-per-view of the year.)
-Kenny King made his entrance for our second match, over 32 minutes into the show. He spoke about facing Jay Lethal for the world title in two days in Toronto. He insulted the Buffalo Sabres to boos. He was out now because the ROH officials promised him a warm-up match before his title match. Cheeseburger made his entrance, accompanied by his fellow members of the new stable Team 3S. Loud “Cheeseburger” chant from the crowd. King called this disrespectful. He wanted a real warm-up match.
(2) CHEESEBURGER (w/Eli Isom & Ryan Nova) vs. KENNY KING
King swept the legs and ran over him with a shoulder tackle. Burger rallied and sent King to the floor. He hit a slingshot splash over the top rope onto King. King threw him into the guardrail. King dominated the bulk of the match. Burger had one hope spot and attempted a springboard attack but King caught him and hit the Royal Flush.
WINNER: Kenny King in 6:57.
(Pageot’s Perspective: Fine squash for the now-firmly-heel #1 contender over the fan favorite undercard talent.)
-Our next match was also unadvertised and it features the Women Of Honor.
(3) MADISON RAYNE vs. “THE GATEKEEPER” KELLY KLEIN
Klein was all power in the early minutes. WOH World Champion Sumie Sakai walked out in silence and stood in the shadows on the stage to discretely watch the match. Klein with a fallaway slam. She locked in a cravate and hit some knee strikes to the face. In the end Rayne hit a crossbody for a two-count but Klein came back with an O’Connor roll with a bridge.
WINNER: Kelly Klein in 7:53.
(Pageot’s Perspective: Too short to really be anything but Klein picks up a pinfall to make up for the loss she took on TV this week.)
-Some smooth jazz hit and Rhett Titus was back in his skimpy trunks and baby oil. But #wheresLittleWilly? Senior official Todd Sinclair rushed him, covering him up with a towel and dragging The Big Dawg backstage.
(4) IWGP JUNIOR HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION KUSHIDA vs. FLIP GORDON vs. “THE OCTOPUS” JONATHAN GRESHAM vs. BUSHI – NON-TITLE MATCH
This was a tornado match, not a four-corner survival. Gresham and Kushida wound up in the ring for an exchange before Gordon hit a springboard dropkick to Gresham. Bushi choked Kushida with his t-shirt. Kushida hip-tossed Bushi, then Gresham, then almost referee Todd Sinclair by accident but he quickly realized his mistake. Gordon with a leaping flip onto Bushi and Gresham on the floor. Gresham hit a double bulldog + dropkick combo on all three men. Gordon with Kinder Surprise to Bushi. He looked for a 450 but Gresham got his knees up. Gresha with a reverserana to Kushida. Bushi sprayed his mist in Gresham’s face. Kushida with the hoverboard lock to Bushi and he rolled through into Back To The Future.
WINNER: Kushida in 9:34.
(Pageot’s Perspective: Match of the tour so far. Everyone got to shine and that energy and speed is the usual hallmark of the junior division.)
(5) ROH WORLD TELEVISION CHAMPION JEFF COBB vs. EVIL – NON-TITLE MATCH
A split reaction was expected but instead the crowd was fully behind Evil. Evil reversed an Irish whip to send Cobb into the guardrail. Evil got his knees up on a standing moonsault from Cobb. Cobb with a delayed vertical suplex while standing on the second turnbuckle. Evil with a fireman’s carry powerbomb. Spinning side slam from Cobb. This would have usually been when he would have went for his finisher but he couldn’t make it back to his feet. Clothesline and standing moonsault from Cobb after a beat instead. Evil pulled the referee between them and used him to help hit a Magic Killer on Cobb for a two-count. Cobb blocked Everything Is Evil and hit Tour Of The Islands.
WINNER: Jeff Cobb in 11:57.
(Pageot’s Perspective: This was the most we’ve seen Cobb sell in ROH. It was a good match but not great as the wrestlers continue to hold back and only go at partial capacity due to the house show nature of these events. If they booked this again on a pay-per-view next year with a proper feud or story behind it, it could definitely be terrific.)
(6) JUICE ROBINSON vs. “THE LAST REAL MAN” SILAS YOUNG
Young refused the code of honor, which hurt Robinson’s feelings, so he tricked Young into a handshake via an armdrag. Young took his t-shirt off and whipped it at him so Robinson threw it to a fan in the crowd. Young avoided a slingshot splash on the floor early on and was in control for the entirety of the match after that. Robinson hit a spinebuster at 7:30. High crossbody for a two-count. Side kick. Young with his Young Combination. Young blocked Pulp Friction. Robinson avoided Misery. Young with the Milwaukee Plunge but Robinson got his knees up. Young dropped Robinson throat-first over the top rope. Young blocked Pulp Friction again and rolled him up with a handful of tights. Bully Ray crept down the aisle and into the ring. As Robinson went for Pulp Friction again Ray kicked him between the legs.
WINNER: Juice Robinson in 13:12 by disqualification.
-Ray shoved referee Todd Sinclair to the mat. Ray berated Young. Flip Gordon hit the ring and put Ray down with a superkick. Gordon brought a steel chair into the ring but Young low blowed him from behind. Ray went under the ring and found a kendo stick. He and Young stood over Gordon and Robinson in the ring.
Joe Koff walked out on stage. He was incensed. He called Ray despicable and hates what Ray did to Gordon in Philadelphia. He told Ray that if he ever uses the kendo stick on anyone ever again he’s fired. Ray stormed off in a huff. Young followed.
(Pageot’s Perspective: But interfering in other people’s matches, low blowing everyone, and whipping the referees with your steel chain is still fine.)
(7) THE YOUNG BUCKS (Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson) vs. LOS INGOBERNABLES DE JAPÓN (Tetsuya Naito & Sanada)
Naito and Matt started. Sanada put both Jacksons into the paradise lock at 7:00 and dropkicked them free. L.I.J. isolated Matt. Sanada pulled Nick off the apron to prevent Matt tagging out. He tagged a moment later anyway and Nick was a house of fire. Double sharpshooters to Naito and Sanada. Superkick party. Naito tried to block a Meltzer Driver but Nick kicked him off. They landed it on Sanada but Naito broke up the pin. Nick caught Sanada with a roll-up.
WINNERS: The Young Bucks in 15:36.
(8a) ROH WORLD CHAMPION JAY LETHAL vs. “CONSTELLATION” CHRIS SABIN – PROVING GROUND MATCH
If Sabin can defeat Lethal or take him to a 15-minute time limit draw he will earn a future world title shot. The crowd was resoundingly behind Lethal and he was in control for the bulk of the match. Sabin avoided a Lethal Injection at 9:30 and put Lethal into a submission hold. Lethal landed a suicide dive that left both men down at ringside. Sabin turned a figure four into a small package. Lethal Combination. Sabin hit a top rope DDT for a two-count. They traded chops with a minute and a half left on the clock. Sabin with an enziguiri. Cutter from Lethal. Hail To The King. Sabin kicked out so Lethal put him in a figure four with 30 seconds left on the clock. Sabin struggled and hung on.
WINNER: Time limit draw in 15:00.
-When the bell rang fans booed, even though it meant Sabin now gets a future title shot. They chanted “five more minutes”, not seeming to understand that Sabin got what he came for. Lethal took a mic and said they would need a lot longer than just five more minutes. He said he was just getting warmed up and suggested an additional ten minutes with the title on the line.
(8b) JAY LETHAL vs. “CONSTELLATION” CHRIS SABIN – ROH WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
They went at each other with hockey punches but were immediately interrupted by Kenny King who attacked both men.
WINNER: No contest in 15:08.
-King cleared Sabin from the ring and hit a spinebuster on Lethal. He posed over Lethal with the world title while the fans chanted for Cheeseburger.
(Pageot’s Perspective: Terrific. I was thinking going in that it had been years since ROH had actually had a match end in a time limit draw so it was a pleasant surprise for Sabin to last the 15 minutes. Lethal offering to put the title on the line on the spot fits his heroic character perfectly and King preventing the match from happening puts some more great heat on him. Presumably Sabin is still owed a future world title shot along with Sea Of Honor tournament winner Flip Gordon and Survival Of The Fittest winner Marty Scurll.)
-Best Friends and The Briscoes entered together while Hangman Page was alone first before Cody and Brandi entered together.
(9) THE ELITE (Cody & Adam Page w/Brandi Rhodes) vs. THE BRISCOES (Jay Briscoe & Mark Briscoe) vs. BEST FRIENDS (Beretta & Chuckie T)
Cody and Beretta were going to start as a preview of their singles match on Sunday in Toronto but Jay Briscoe tagged himself in. Briscoe took down Cody with an elbow. Best Friends took out The Elite. They looked for a hug but the Briscoes attacked them both. After a minute of action they tried again, only for Mark to prevent it. Page took out Mark with Buckshot Lariat and the BFs and Elite hit a big four-way hug. Beretta took control of Cody so Brandi jumped onto the apron and flashed some cleavage at him. The distraction allowed Cody to take over. The Briscoes badgered referee Paul Turner into ejecting Brandi from ringside.
Redneck Boogie from the Briscoes to Beretta for a two-count. The chicken farmers isolated Beretta. With Chuckie T knocked off the apron Beretta reluctantly tagged out to Cody. Beautiful disaster kick to Jay. CrossRhodes. Mark broke up the pinfall with a froggy-bow. Tags to Page and Chuck Taylor. Sole food. Standing sliced bread for two. Powerbomb from Page. Beretta with a top rope release German suplex. Taylor with a double stomp. Cody broke up the pin.
Cody and Beretta squared off. Bionic elbow. Ref bump when Cody avoided a kick from Beretta. Mark hit Cody with his U.S. title belt. Jay with a steel chair to the back of Beretta. Kaz hit the ring and threw the chair at Jay’s face. Christopher Daniels took out Mark. Beretta with a Dudebuster to Mark for the win.
WINNERS: Best Friends in 18:49.
-Beretta posed with the IWGP U.S. title.
(Pageot’s Perspective: Better than average. Best Friends are so poorly established in ROH that it’s hard to invest in them too much, especially the idea of Beretta as a singles champion. I watch every single ROH event and write and podcast about the promotion and I can’t even tell you what their signature moves are or name them when I see them. If you’re a gambler Beretta hasn’t had one singles match in ROH this year while his opponent on Sunday, Cody, has the best men’s record in ROH at 15-1.)
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