RADICAN’S ROH Field of Honor Review – Lethal & Nakamura, Okada vs. Strong, more

During Summerslam Weekend, Ring of Honor and NJPW presented “Field of Honor” from MCU Park in Brooklyn, New York featuring big clashes between the two rosters. Read Sean Radican’s review of the recently-released DVD…

ROH “FIELD OF HONOR 2015 REPORT”
AUG. 22, 2015
BROOKLYN, N.Y.
TAPED LIVE AT MCU PARK
REPORT BY SEAN RADICAN, PWTORCH COLUMNIST

AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE AT ROHWRESTLING.COM

Taelor Hendrix came out to throw the first pitch to the Honor Cow. A cool graphic introduction with a baseball theme then introduced the show. The Honor Cow turned out to be Steve Corino, who was in the commentary booth.

The stands looked packed from the hard camera, but the side angles looked fairly empty. The Honor Cow booed Christopher Daniels and then cheered for Adam Cole. The baseball field setting is awesome. The show has already showcased some beautiful shots of the field.

(1) Adam Cole vs. ROH World Tag Champion Christopher Daniels. Cole offered a handshake and Daniels hit Cole’s pose. They went right at it and Cole caught Daniels with a big neck breaker. The ring seemed to be heavily mic’d as every move hit made a loud noise. Daniels tried to mount a comeback, but Cole hit a basement dropkick to Daniels’s knee. Daniels blocked a figure 4 and sent Cole to the outside a short time later. Daniels went after Cole’s shoulder on the outside and shoved him shoulder-first into the ringpost. Daniels continued to go after Cole’s injury inside the ring. Daniels hit a nice lionsault at one point, but it was only good for a 2 count. Corino informed Kelly that he was going to wear the costume all night and hinted that he might look like the 1999 version of himself by the time he takes it off. Both men ended up trading bombs back and forth in the middle of the ring, but Daniels hit an enzuguri on Cole’s shoulder to ground him. Cole fired up and took off his elbow pads. He called Daniels and old man and told him to bring it. Daniels cut him off and hit an STO. Daniels then went for the BME. Cole got out of the way and Daniels landed on his feet, but immediately ate a shining wizard from Cole. The fans lost their minds and chanted for Cole with both men down on the mat. Cole hit a neck breaker on Daniels over his knee and connected with another shining wizard for a 2 count. Daniels fired back and hit an arm stunner and another STO. Cole kicked out and Daniels went right to the Koji clutch. Cole bridged over on top of Daniels and got a 2 count. Daniels planted Cole right after kicking out and transitioned from the Koji clutch to an arm bar. Cole teased tapping, but got to the bottom rope.

They went back and forth and Cole hit a huge high angle German followed by a shining wizard to the back of Daniels’s head for a 2 count. Cole then applied the figure-four. Sabin ran down to the ring and Cole let go of the figure-four. Cole yelled at Sabin and Daniels rolled him up for a 2 count. They teased several near falls including Cole hitting Sabin with a superkick after Daniels got out of the way. Sabin flew to the outside Daniels covered him with his feet on the ropes for a 2 count. Daniels dropped Cole with a right jab after he kicked out. Daniels looked at Sabin on the outside before selling his knee. Cole countered Daniels and nailed him with a superkick. He then hit a big twisting neck breaker over his knee for the win.

WINNER: Adam Cole

Star rating: (***1/2) – The match started off and it felt pretty ordinary. The fans got behind Cole, who was teasing a face turn at the time as Daniels worked over his shoulder. Once Cole mounted his comeback the match got quite good and this turned into a really fun opening match.

(2) GHC Hvt. Tag Team Champions The Killer Elite Squad (Lance Archer & Davey Boy Smith Jr.) vs. War Machine (Hanson & Rowe) in a non-title match. War Machine offered a handshake, but KES threw punches right away. Hanson got sent to the outside and KES began working over Rowe. Smith caught Rowe with a flying arm bar, but Rowe managed to get his foot on the ropes. Rowe surprised Archer with a forearm and tagged in Hanson. Hanson caught Archer with a cartwheel clothesline and the fans fired up. Smith tried to interfere, but Hanson stacked KES in the corner and began pounding on them. Hanson then hit a double bronco buster on KES. Hanson went for another bronco buster on Archer but he got out of the way and nailed him with a big shoulder tackle. Corino made a lot of cow related puns on commentary. Kelly said NOAH might be interested in War Machine. Smith got a kimura on Hanson, but he got his foot on the bottom rope. Rowe tried to get into the ring, which allowed KES to get a double boot choke on Hanson on the ring apron. KES hit a total elimination variation on Hanson, but they only got a 2 count. The fans tried to rally behind Hanson, who had been taking a sustained beating.

Rowe finally got the hot tag and went at it with Smith. He caught him with a big exploder and hit a judo throw a short time later. Rowe wiped out the KES and stood tall with Hanson in the ring and the fans fired up a bit. Hanson wiped out KES with a big tope through the ropes to the outside. Rowe went after Archer inside the ring, but he surprised him with a spinebuster. The action broke down as both teams went back and forth. Smith caught Rowe with a Saito suplex for a 2 count. Smith and Archer hit their tandem powerbomb on Rowe, but Hanson broke up the pin at the last second. Both teams continued to go back and forth. Rowe countered Archer and hit a big uranagi. They then hit fallout on Smith for the win.

WINNERS: Hanson & Rowe.

Star rating: (**3/4) – This match was solid, but it was never very exciting. There were some good moments, but overall there wasn’t much of a story told here to engage the crowd during the match. The big story coming out of this match was the pending debut of War Machine in NOAH, as this match established them as contenders to the GHC Hvt. Tag Team titles.

B.J. Whitmer came out with Adam Page. Page said Jay Briscoe had dodged him for weeks. He said tonight he would win the TV Title and then break his neck. The fans booed.

***

(3) GAUNTLET MATCH FOR A ROH WORLD TV TITLE SHOT

(a) Adam Page (w/B.J. Whitmer & Colby Corino) vs. Dalton Castle (w/The Boys). The fans chanted for Castle before the Gauntlet started. Castle bent over at a funny angle before popping up to his feet and gyrating around, which made The Boys very excited. Prince Nana joined the commentary team. Page wiped out Castle and The Boys fanned him before they went at it again. Castle got on top of Page and hit a series of headbutts and did an odd dance around the ring before spreading his arms. The fans fired up and chanted peacock as Castle slowly went towards Page in the corner. Page went for a kick, but Castle caught it and hit a pair of clotheslines. They went back and forth and Castle got a rollup, but Page kicked out into a kick from Corino. Page hit a pump-handle suplex with a bridge, but Castle managed to kick out. Page tossed Castle to the floor and The Boys fanned him. Castle went up top, but Page ducked a dive. He then hit a power slam for a 2 count. Page mocked Castle’s pose and Castle surprised him with an overhead throw. Castle mounted a comeback and hit a big dropkick. Page eventually missed a standing SSP and Castle hit a deadlift German with a bridge for a near fall. They eventually went at it on the apron. Castle bounced off the ropes, but Page flipped into the ring and surprised him with a clothesline for a near fall. Colby got on the apron and distracted the ref. Whitmer tried to toss a crutch into the ring, but one of The Boys took his crutch. The other boy was riding Whitmer, but he broke free and tossed Page his other crutch. Castle managed to rollup Page for the win.

Page attacked Castle after he was eliminated and then hit him with an inverted piledriver.

Winner: Dalton Castle

(b) ROH World Tag Team Champion Frankie Kazarian (w/Chris Sabin) vs. Dalton Castle (w/The Boys). Kazarian took forever to get into the ring. He finally got into the ring and put the boots to Castle. Kazarian worked over Castle before hitting a springboard leg drop for a 2 count. Castle tried to mount a comeback, but Sabin tripped him from the floor. Castle got a rollup, but Sabin distracted the ref and Kazarian kicked out. Castle caught Kazarian coming off the top and hit a suplex for a 2 count. Castle countered a victory roll from Kazarian and got the pin for the win.

After the match, Sabin and Kazarian put a beating on Castle. Sabin went to clothesline Castle, but he ended up nailing Kazarian. Sabin fired back and Kazarian ended up nailing Castle with a belt shot.

Winner: Dalton Castle

(c) Silas Young vs. Dalton Castle. Young sprinted down to the ring and made the cover, but Castle kicked out at the last second. Kelly mentioned the upcoming PPV match between Castle and Young. Castle mounted a brief comeback, but Young nailed him with misery for the win.

Winner: Silas Young

Luke Williams came out next and did the Bushwhacker walk down to the ring.

(d) Luke Williams vs. Silas Young. Young tossed Williams out and he did the Bushwhacker walk around the bases to recreate his memorable elimination from the Royal Rumble. Young won the match via count out.

The fans booed Williams being counted out and he strutted all the way back to the locker room.

Winner: Silas Young

(e) Silas Young vs. Moose (w/Stokely Hathaway). Moose hit a big pounce right away. The fans chanted for Moose. Young fired back with a back rake off the turnbuckles. Moose set up in the corner and went for a spear, but Young got out of the way and caught him with a spinning DDT for a near fall. The fans started a Moose there it is chant. They went back and forth and Moose caught Young with a big kick. He then picked him up and planted him with a big spinebuster variation for the win.

Winner: Moose

(f) Donovan Dijak (w/The HOT) vs. Moose (w/Stokely Hathaway). Both men went for shoulder tackles as their managers encouraged them, but neither man would go down. Moose finally took Dijak down with a big dropkick. The fans chanted for Moose, who set up in the corner. Martini grabbed his leg from the outside and Dijak nailed Moose with a big kick to the head. Dijak went for feast your eyes, but Moose countered it. They went back and forth and Moose finally caught Dijak with a big running boot against the ropes. Dijak fired right back with a spinning kick and then a choke slam into a back breaker for a 2 count. Moose rolled to the floor and Dijak caught Moose with an insane dive to the floor. He went up top for a moonsault a short time later, but Moose got his knees up. Moose hit a step-up drop kick out of the corner a short time later and the fans went nuts. Hathaway and Martini went at it on the outside. Diesel joined in the three-way chase and they all ended up going to the back. Moose then set up in the corner and nailed Dijak with a spear for the win.

Winner: Moose – This wasn’t very long, but the action between Moose and Dijak was fantastic while it lasted.

Veda Scott came down to the ring and got on the apron. Cedric Alexander then ran out and nailed Moose with the wrench with Scott distracting the ref.

(g) Cedric Alexander (w/Veda Scott) vs. Moose. After hitting Moose with the wrench. Alexander made the cover for the east win.

Winner: Cedric Alexander

(g) Cedric Alexander vs. Watanabe. Kelly mentioned Watanabe was heading back to NJPW soon. He actually just debuted and is paired with Naito as EVIL. Alexander got the upper hand and sent Watanabe to the outside. They ended up brawling on the outside. Alexander poked Watanabe in the eyes right when he was gaining some momentum with chops and tossed him into the ring for a 2 count. Both men are fresh and the winner will receive an ROH World TV Title shot on Sept. 19 in San Antonio. Alexander went for the three amigos, but ended up tossing Watanabe down before landing the third suplex. Alexander went up top for a frog splash, but Watanabe got out of the way. Watanabe mounted a comeback and hit a big neck breaker. He followed up with a back senton, but Alexander kicked out at 2. Alexander fired back with a falcon arrow, but Watanabe kicked out at 2. Both men went back and forth exchanging blows. Alexander got the upper hand and hit a big dropkick in the corner. Alexander hit another big dropkick and Scott got up on the apron. Moose came down the aisle and Moose shoved Alexander into Scott. He then hit a big German. They followed up and Watanabe hit a big German. Watanabe hit a big forearm smash followed by a huge STO for the win.

WINNER: Watanabe to earn a ROH World Title shot on Sept. 19.

Star rating: (***) – This was a storyline-heavy gauntlet match and it did a good job of adding fuel to the fire of several undercard feuds leading into the ASE PPV in September. Watanabe winning was a good idea given that he hasn’t been given many high-profile opportunities in ROH while on his excursion.

***

(4) The Kingdom (Matt Taven & Michael Bennett w/Maria) & RPG Vice (Trent Baretta & Rocky Romero) vs. The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson) & ACH & Matt Sydal. Taven and Bennett wanted to tag out during the early going, but RPG Vice jumped off the apron. The Young Bucks, Sydal, and ACH then nailed them with a four-way superkick as they were hugging. Maria tried to block ACH from hitting a dive, so he ended up backing up and flying over her to wipe out everyone on the outside. ACH got cut off with a spear from Bennett and Taven continued to work him over as the fans booed Bennett. ACH got tossed out of the ring and the action broke down. Everyone brawled on the outside. The Kingdom and RPG Vice played a game of baseball after getting the upper hand. RPG Vice ran the bases and hit a pair of knee strikes on ACH. The Kingdom then ran the bases with Maria as the fans booed. The fans began a superkick chant as they ran the bases. The Kingdom ended up running into a double superkick from the Young Bucks. ACH cut off RPG Vice with a double DDT inside the ring and made the hot tag to Sydal, who ran wild. Romero mounted a comeback on Matt a short time later and went for his forever clotheslines, but Matt countered and did a series of suck it clotheslines. Matt then threw a superkick party on Romero and Trent. The Yong Bucks ran wild and hit a series of double team maneuvers on Romero, but he kicked out at the last second.

The fans chanted for the Young Bucks as Nick called for a superkick party. Maria got up on the apron and distracted Matt and Nick. The Kingdom then attacked them from behind and wiped them out. Matt took a big combination of moves capped by a frog splash from Taven, but he managed to kick out at 2. Bennett hit the TOF on Matt and Taven went for a swanton, but Matt got his knees up. The action picked up and The Kingdom hit Hail Mary on Sydal, but ACH made the save. The action continued at a rapid pace with both teams going back and forth. Taven ate a triple superkick when he went for a splash off the top. Nick wiped out everyone else with a dive to the outside. Taven took more bang for your buck, a 450 from ACH and a SSP press from Sydal for the win. Wow!

They put the cow head on Romero after the match and nailed him with a four-way superkick.

WINNERS: ACH & Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson & Matt Sydal.

Star rating: (***3/4) – This was all action and it was a lot of fun. The Kingdom and RPG Vice running the bases during the early going was hilarious. The action then picked up and it was a blur of superkicks and high spots down the stretch. This match was a ton of fun.

(5) IWGP IC Champion Hirooki Goto vs. Michael Elgin in a Non-title match. They started off trading bombs until Elgin caught Goto with a big clothesline. Goto fired back and tried to take Elgin down with a shoulder tackle, but Elgin flexed in his face and they eventually came to a stalemate. The announcers talked about Elgin impressing Japan officials during the G1 Climax tournament. Elgin eventually sent Goto to the outside with a big clothesline. They took the fight to the outside and Elgin went to work on Goto with some big chops. Goto tried to fire back, but Elgin nailed him with a huge forearm. Elgin hit a long delayed vertical suplex on Goto back inside the ring for a 2 count. Elgin continued to dominate as he countered Goto and hit a German into the turnbuckles. He then hit a corkscrew senton for a 2 count. The fans fired up and chanted for Goto. Goto fired back and caught Elgin with a huge clothesline off the ropes and both men were down. Goto went to work on Elgin and eventually hit a Saito suplex for a 2 count. Both men went for clotheslines at the same time and connected, but neither man would go down. Goto finally decked Elgin with a clothesline. They went back and forth once again and Goto countered a forearm with a short headbutt to the chest. Elgin fired back and surprised Goto with an enzuguri. Elgin then hit a series of German suplexes, but Goto fought out of a third German attempt, so Elgin countered him into a chaos theory for near fall. Holy crap! The fans chanted back and forth for both men.

This match has once again been an even contest just as it was in G1. Elgin hit his signature deadlift falcon arrow off the turnbuckles for a near fall. They battled up top a short time later. Goto nailed Elgin with a big headbutt up top. He then got on top of Elgin’s back and hit an insane code red for a near fall. Holy crap! Goto followed up with a neck breaker over his knee for another 2 count. They went back and forth and Goto countered out of a vertical suplex and hit shouten kai for the win. Wow!

Elgin recovered after the match and Goto offered him his hand. Elgin teased leaving, but got back into the ring and raised Goto hand.

WINNER: Hirooki Goto

Star rating: (***3/4) – This was a really good match. It was certainly as good as their match during G1. The crowd didn’t provide a great atmosphere, but these two had a great back and forth match until Goto got the win.

(6) Time Splitters (IWGP Jr. Hvt. Champion KUSHIDA & Alex Shelley) vs. The Briscoes (Mark & Jay Briscoe). KUSHIDA took a beating during the early going, but mounted a comeback and went to work on Mark. Shelley made a blind tag and worked with KUSHIDA to wipe out Mark. Jay ran into the ring, but he took a series of moves from Time Splitters, who stood tall in the ring. Shelley and KUSHIDA targeted Mark’s arm. Mark fired back and shoved Shelley into KUSHIDA, who worked over Shelley’s arm on the apron without looking. Shelley managed to tag out and KUSHIDA got a Fujiwara arm bar, but Mark got to the ropes. Time Splitters tagged in and out to work over Mark’s arm. They then nailed him with a double suplex for a 2 count. Wow! That was slick. The Briscoes fired back and wiped out Shelley with a series of moves capped by a clothesline. Shelley took a beating and apparently got his tooth broken after a hard shot from Mark. Shelley finally mounted a comeback and wiped out The Briscoes. He made the tag to KUSHIDA, who ran wild. Shelley and Jay went at it on the outside while KUSHIDA and Mark went at it in the ring. KUSHIDA finally decked Mark with a baseball punch.

Shelley then went back after Mark’s arm with a kick and got the hover board lock, but Jay made the save. The Time Splitters hit a series of moves on Jay capped by a sick dropkick from KUSHIDA and the fans fired up. Shelley and KUSHIDA set up for a tandem sliced bread on Mark, but Jay made the save. The Briscoes hit a Razors edge/neck breaker combination on Shelley for a 2 count. Jay set up for the Jay-driller on Shelley, but he fought out of it. Jay caught Shelley with a big forearm and went for the Jay-driller again, but KUSHIDA nailed him with a kick. Both teams went back and forth in the ring until Jay caught Shelley with a Jay-driller for the win.

Both teams shook hands after the match.

WINNERS: Mark & Jay Briscoe

Star rating: (***1/2) – This was a really good back and forth match. You have to feel for Shelley, who has had a lot of bad breaks in his career and he appeared to suffer some broken teeth in this match. That being said, he gutted through it and these two teams had a really good back and forth match.

Okada got a big pop coming out to face Strong in the semi-main event.

(7) IWGP Hvt. Champion Kazuchika Okada vs. Roderick Strong in a non-title match. Nigel McGuinness was in on commentary for this match. Both men shook hands before the opening bell. Strong caught Okada with a big dropkick during the early going, which drew a pop from the fans. He went to work on Okada and hit a big belly to back suplex for a 2 count. Strong hit a suplex and Okada began selling his back. Okada tried to fire back, but Strong caught him with another big dropkick as he came off the ropes, which was good for a 2 count. Strong took the fight to the outside and nailed Okada with a series of big chops. They went back and forth and Strong ended up tossing Okada over the guardrail and into the crowd. Strong went right back after Okada and nailed him with a big chops before dumping him over the guardrail. Strong then got back into the ring and smiled. Okada fired back inside the ring a short time later, but Okada caught him with a neck breaker. Okada went for a splash in the corner, but Strong caught him. Okada then fired back and caught Strong with his signature flapjack. Strong fired back and hit a combination of moves capped by a big slam for a 2 count. Strong went for a running kick, but Okada caught him and placed him up top before nailing him with a sick dropkick. Strong ended up spilling to the outside. Okada tried to drag him back into the ring, but Strong tripped him, caught him and then dumped him back-first on the apron. He then tossed Okada into the ring and covered him for a 2 count. Okada fired back a short time later and caught Strong with a neck breaker over his knee and both men were down on the mat.

Both men got up and began trading bombs. Strong told Okada to bring it and he nailed him with a big forearm. Strong fired back with the Olympic slam. He placed Okada up top a short time later. Okada pushed him off, but Strong hit a jumping enzuguri. Strong then went back up top and hit a superplex. Okada sold his back and Strong made the cover, but Okada kicked out at 2. Strong immediately applied the Stronghold. Strong tried to trap Okada’s arm to prevent him from grabbing the ropes, but Okada managed to free himself and grab the bottom rope to break the submission. Strong duked a rainmaker and hit a forearm. He tried to bounce off the ropes, but Okada nailed him with a huge dropkick. Okada went for the rainmaker, but Strong hit three jumping knees and a double knee gutbuster. Strong then hit the sick kick, but Okada kicked out at the very last second. Holy s—t! That was amazing! The fans fired up as both men tried to regroup. Strong got up and walked right into a tombstone from Okada. Strong tried to surprise Okada with another jumping knee, but Okada caught him and hit another tombstone. Strong tried to surprise Okada with a jumping knee after he went for the rainmaker again, but Okada blocked it and hit a big German. Okada held on and hit the rainmaker for the win. Holy s—t!

Both men shook hands after the match. Okada then posed for the fans.

WINNER: Kazuchika Okada

Star rating: (****1/2) – This started off a bit slow, but Strong put on a tremendous performance in this match. He went after Okada’s back and had the upper hand, but Okada mounted a comeback. The back and forth action between these two was tremendous, especially the finishing sequence. Wow!

Not surprisingly Nakamura got a huge pop and streamers coming out for the main event. The announcers hyped it as an ASE PPV preview with Fish facing Lethal for the TV Title and O’Reilly challenging for the World Title.

(8) IWGP Jr. Hvt. Tag Team Champions ReDRagon (Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly) vs. ROH World & TV Champion Jay Lethal & Shinsuke Nakamura (w/Truth Martini). Nakamura followed the code of honor, but Lethal didn’t. Lethal and O’Reilly had a fast exchange during the early going and they came to a stalemate. The fans wanted Nakamura, but he wouldn’t tag in, so he ended up taking a kick from O’Reilly. Fish then made a blind tag and ReDRagon went after Lethal, but this time Nakamura refused to tag in by mocking Lethal’s fake tag dance. Nakamura finally tagged in and gave Lethal a hug. Lethal teased leaving Nakamura alone, but ended up coming back to the ring. Lethal went for the Lethal injection on Fish, but O’Reilly grabbed him from the apron to block it. Fish took down Lethal and tagged in O’Reilly. Martini distracted Fish, which allowed Nakamura to tag in. Nakamura wiped out Fish and O’Reilly. He eventually hit his signature running knee on Fish in the corner. O’Reilly got the hot tag from Fish and ran wild. At one point he wiped out Nakamura and mocked his dancing. O’Reilly continued to be a house a fire, as he nailed Nakamura with a running knee off the apron. Fish joined him in the ring and they went to work on Lethal, who managed to kick out after taking a combination of moves. They set up Lethal for chasing the dragon, but Nakamura got up on the apron and nailed Fish with a kick to the head. Nakamura then lifted the ropes for Lethal, who hit a huge dive on O’Reilly. Nakamura caught Fish with a Boma ye out of the corner, but O’Reilly made the save. Nakamura accidentally nailed Lethal with a forearm when O’Reilly got out of the way. Nakamura managed to nail O’Reilly with an axe kick to end the big sequence and everyone was done.

They did a big sequence with Fish blocking a Lethal injection attempt, but Nakamura nailed him with a Boma ye. Lethal then came off the top with hail to the king, but O’Reilly shoved Nakamura into them to break up the pin. Martini tried to give Nakamura the Book of Truth, but he tossed it away like a shot putt. Lethal yelled at Nakamura. O’Reilly tried to jump Lethal, but Nakamura shoved him out of the way and with a kick. O’Reilly went for a pendulum elbow, but Nakamura caught him with a flying arm bar. Lethal then hit the Lethal injection on Fish for the win. Wow!

Lethal and Nakamura glared at each other after the match. The announcers said Lethal had just put down one of his opponents at ASE next month. O’Reilly shook hands with Nakamura after the match. Fish also shook hands with Nakamura and gave him a hug. Lethal refused to shake hands with ReDRagon. Nakamura offered Lethal a handshake, but Lethal blew him off and the fans booed. Nakamura was left alone in the ring to celebrate before leaving the ring.

WINNERS: Jay Lethal & Shinsuke Nakamura.

Star rating: (****) – I really enjoyed the interactions between Lethal and Nakamura during the match. The action was fantastic in this one and although Lethal and Nakamura didn’t get along, they did enough to get the win with Lethal getting the pin on Fish.

Overall Thoughts: (9.0) – What a show this was. ROH did a good job of using the NJPW talent to not only deliver memorable and unique matches in the ring, but they also made good use of the NJPW talent to further current storylines, especially in the main event. The show delivered two tremendous matches back-to-back to conclude a fantastic night of wrestling in a gorgeous setting.

This felt very much like an old school ROH show in some respects. The undercard featured one good match followed by another. The highlight of the first half of the card was the 8 Man Tag match. The Young Bucks are so much fun to watch and although they’ve been in better multi-man matches in ROH in 2015, this one was a ton of fun.

The card really picked up from that point forward. Elgin and Goto had another fantastic match to open the second half of the show in a match that was billed as a rematch from the G1 Climax tournament. Then the Briscoes and Time Splitters had a really fun match that was only dampened by Shelley getting his teeth broken early in the math.

Strong has had such a great run in 2015 and he finally had a big match delivered huge in an ROH ring against Okada. They had a great match that built and built to a tremendous finish. They had the crowd eating out of the palms of their hands by the end of the match and the finishing sequence was tremendous.

The main event did a good job of setting up the ASE VII PPV in September. With Fish challenging for the TV Title and O’Reilly challenging for the World Title, they both got a chance to get their hands on Lethal leading into the PPV. The match was great overall and I’d really like to see a Lethal-Nakamura match at some point down the line.

Overall, this was a great show. MCU Park looked tremendous on film and the ROH production team did a great job of capturing the atmosphere. The stadium obviously wasn’t full, but there were enough shots of fans filling the stands from the right angles for most of the show. This was easily one of the top ROH events of 2015.

FYI: ROH’s “Field of Honor 2015” DVD can be bought at ROHWrestling.com. This show is also available on VOD at ROHWrestling.com.

***

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