I like Castle, but he has had a nothing reign. Not memorable at all. Doesn’t help that Bullet Club are still the focus of the show. Only match of his reign worth watching is the Lethal match from the anniversary show. Lethal has by far been the best in-ring performer in ROH this year.

Dalton is injured, so I think he drops the title to Cody on Friday. Just doesn’t feel like it is the right time for Marty to win the title for the first time. Haven’t built up to that moment enough.

Cody didn’t have any real memorable matches during his reign, but at least with him as champ it was the focus of the show & he made it a big deal. His character work and promos really made it feel like a true world title. 

Best in the World was merely a ho-hum show with one exception. The Young Bucks and the Briscoes may have had their best match together in their illustrious careers. As heels, the Brisoces have taken their work to another level, finding an intensity that's pretty uncommon in this day and age. Combine that intensity with the Bucks incredible athleticism and you have one of the best tag team matches of the year.

The opening match saw The Kingdom retain their championship over Los Ingobernables de Japon. TK O'Ryan and Vinny Marseglia are slowly but surely becoming better workers and Matt Taven remains one of the more dependable guys on the roster. LIJ didn't really have to do a lot, but they had fun out there and it was an important win for the Kingdom.

Normally when you hear about a 5 minute DQ match, typically you think of a Monday Night Raw match that was merely put on the card to kill time or feature a talent. In the case of Flip Gordon & Bully Ray, this wasn't the case at all and it may have been the one exception where the DQ finish worked better in both guys favour. Flip Gordon has been one of the most improved talents on the ROH roster and the way he opened the match with a big brawl gave me the distinct impression an ROH World Championship run isn't out of the question at some point. He hit Bully Ray with everything but the kitchen sink and the few pieces of offence Bully Ray got on Flip Gordon were really well laid out. It appears they could be going down a Bully vs. Cabana route which knowing both guys could be one of the best angles in the company.

The eight-women tag was mostly sloppy, but Iwatani was really good and ROH would be very fortunate if they could make her the face of their women's division.

Austin Aries reminded me how good he is with another smart performance. Kenny King has always been one of those guys with a lot of athleticism and charisma but doesn't seem to understand how to channel it. Aries proved to be a good dancing partner and the way they laid out the match and had Kenny 'sweep the leg' ala Cobra Kai style was really entertaining and smart work for that place on the card. This was the most I enjoyed King and may have been the best match he's had.

The most interesting aspect of the KUSHIDA & Jay Lethal match is that goody-two shoes KUSHIDA actually worked heel, refusing to honour the code of honor and openly mocking his opponent on a few exchanges. I've yet to see either guy have a bad match and while I'd seldom call it great, it was still quality all the same. The only complaint I have is that right before the finish, they messed up what appeared to be a cutter spot which clearly knocked the juice out of the crowd.

Everytime I see Adam Page, he seems to get better and better. Right now I wouldn't be surprised if he was in the conversation for ROH MVP and I thought he worked his ass off against Punisher Martinez to make him look better than what he is. Page went down, but like a former ECW legend Tommy Dreamer I believe the loss here will serve him better in the future. Martinez is very green, but like a Primetime Brian Lee has that legitimate look that will always hold a fans attention.

The main event reminded me a lot of Austin's advice from working in New Japan. Steve would have to follow the likes of Eddie, Benoit, Jushin Liger and all these guys who could perform all these amazing athletic maneuvers and had cardio for days. Instead of trying to follow that tempo, Steve would just focus more on the character stuff, knowing that's what he brought to the table. In a similar way, it seemed like Cody, Marty & Dalton focused on the Bullet Club dissension angle they had going and it was fine for what it was. Looking back, the brace and strapping for Dalton weren't for show, so all three guys did a good job of working around it. I'm not sure if I like the idea of Dalton retaining only to lose it the next night. I didn't like it when I first started watching wrestling in August of '99 and don't care for it now, but at least they went with somebody outside of the Bullet Club.

SPOILER: Click to show

I really like that Lethal is champ now. He is ROH’s best wrestler and deserves to hold the belt again. Sometimes you need a shock title change like that.

I'm so mad about that SM,

Seems about as good an option as any at this point in my opinion. It is kind of a bummer about the way Dalton has been booked. He won the title and aside from a hilarious segment with Lethal, not a lot to really speak of. There was a time when I thought Dalton could be a top guy in NXT but I feel like they kind of already have a better version of him with Velveteen Dream and I sort of see now that Dalton has a ceiling.

Should've been Scurll. But of course I'm never satisfied who they pick.

I love myself some Scurll but I would like his eventual title run to have a better storyline lead into it and perhaps a slight change in character where he's an actual villain and not kind of a goofy fan favorite.

Jul 1, 2018 22:49:59 GMT vendrell said:

I love myself some Scurll but I would like his eventual title run to have a better storyline lead into it and perhaps a slight change in character where he's an actual villain and not kind of a goofy fan favorite.

I agree Marty has gotten a lot of heart during the times I've seen him as the true villain.

Jul 1, 2018 22:44:52 GMT @ness said:

Should've been Scurll. But of course I'm never satisfied who they pick.

Scurll is to much of a cartoon character right now and I just wouldn’t buy him as champ. A few tweaks and I think he can be ready to hold the belt whenever it is time for a new champ. 

Big time Dalton fan here. He should be champ forever! Lol

The proud peacock needs time off. He's been dealing with a lot of injuries.

It's unfortunate that Castle's body gave out on him. He was one of the few home grown characters the fans cared about, but his championship run left something to be desired. The time off should do him the world of good and hopefully he finds his feet asap.

The timing of the championship switch could have been better, but in saying that Lethal is a dependable pick. He's quietly been the most consistent performer on the roster and the championship run should hopefully give him more direction. More importantly for ROH it makes for a more interesting dynamic in the Bullet Club. Ordinarily I would support the idea of putting the belt on the most over guy which in this case is Scurll, but I don't think it was the right time to pull the trigger. If Scurll had won the belt, then something would had to give for the Bullet Club. With All In right around the corner, it would have ruined the dynamic of the show, so I think they made the right choice holding off for now. It also makes the eventual turn mean more because the fans got to see the gradual development.

Finally, I hope Marty Scurll remains apart of the Bullet Club forever. He's been a great addition and added another layer to their stable.

I'm guessing Cody didn't get it because they don't want him as the champ losing to the IWGP Champ two years in a row.

I still think it's a lock he takes the NWA Title at All-In and begins defending that at RoH shows.

Meh, Cody already had his run also. I mean I'm not opposed to multiple title runs in ROH but to just throw it right back on Cody would feel a bit odd. Jay lethal was kind of out of left field which sometimes is great just for the surprise factor. I don't think he'll hold it long and he'll be more of a transitional champ to put over somebody else...I just hope to fuck it's not Matt Taven. Anybody but Taven!

Jul 2, 2018 23:22:54 GMT vendrell said:

Meh, Cody already had his run also. I mean I'm not opposed to multiple title runs in ROH but to just throw it right back on Cody would feel a bit odd. Jay lethal was kind of out of left field which sometimes is great just for the surprise factor. I don't think he'll hold it long and he'll be more of a transitional champ to put over somebody else...I just hope to fuck it's not Matt Taven. Anybody but Taven!

Yeah, Taven sucks but his relatively harmless as a mid-card act. Taven has a punchable face and I love to see him get his ass kicked but I don't wanna see him in a bigger role because I wouldn't buy it.

Taven is valuable in that he can work with anybody, but he should never enter the championship conversation.

Before news broke about Lethal winning the ROH Championship, I was envisioning all the ways he could be re-booted. It seems like ever since the Silas Young feud, he's been floating around like ROH's version of Randy Orton. I would have thought interjecting him into the tag team scene would have been a good way to reinvigorate the act and give that division a nice shot in the arm. Now that he has the belt, I'd love to see them go back to Silas Young vs. Jay Lethal for the ROH Championship.

With Silas 'winning' their rivalry last year, there's an easy opening there and it's something new for the ROH Championship. Let Jay go over and then you can decide which member of the Bullet Club he can drop the belt to at Final Battle.

Hate to say it, but I think its time Lethal moves on. He's done basically everything he can. Now he just seems to be there. A change of scenery would do both Jay and ROH some good.

Jul 4, 2018 22:34:10 GMT bodyslam said:

Hate to say it, but I think its time Lethal moves on. He's done basically everything he can. Now he just seems to be there. A change of scenery would do both Jay and ROH some good.

I see your point but WWE isn't for everyone. Maybe Jay doesn't want to go to WWE.

Also does WWE have any interest in Lethal? I mean I guess you could always use more talent on 205 live but I feel like anybody who goes to 205 live is devalued just being there instead of any one talent bringing that product up a level.

Jul 5, 2018 19:12:09 GMT Ed said:

Jul 4, 2018 22:34:10 GMT bodyslam said:

Hate to say it, but I think its time Lethal moves on. He's done basically everything he can. Now he just seems to be there. A change of scenery would do both Jay and ROH some good.

I see your point but WWE isn't for everyone. Maybe Jay doesn't want to go to WWE.

I did not say anything about the WWE. There are other options.

His current revenge or avenge tour does nothing for me.

Other than New Japan, there really isn't.

Lethal's handful of NJPW appearances have all been mediocre. He might be good for the junior division though.

Jul 5, 2018 20:24:57 GMT bodyslam said:

Jul 5, 2018 19:12:09 GMT Ed said:

I see your point but WWE isn't for everyone. Maybe Jay doesn't want to go to WWE.

I did not say anything about the WWE. There are other options.

His current revenge or avenge tour does nothing for me.

You can skip his segments. That's what I do when I see Silas Young. :lol:

Survival of tge Fittest night one is in my city. Ill let you guys know if we score tickets

I'm not a Silas Young fan but I would support him if he stood up to that jerk Bully Ray.

Aug 30, 2018 23:29:39 GMT Ed said:

I'm not a Silas Young fan but I would support him if he stood up to that jerk Bully Ray.

I'm interested to see how it all plays out.

For some reason, Punishment Martinez reminds me of Roman Reigns, if Roman was booked the right way. Say little, and be the brute force that can make a person pay.

Martinez reminds me more of Baron Corbin. Both big guys with a fascination with the occult, both learning on the job. You're right though, Martinez is being fed enough wins without being force fed.

Has a nice test coming up against Chris Sabin. If he can keep working on his in-ring performance he could be anything.

ROH Death Before Dishonor 2018 Results

(1) Kenny King def. Jushin Liger in 11:50
(2) The Briscos (c) def. The Addiction in 17:40
(3) Sumie Sakai (c) def. Tenille Dashwood in 12:30
(4) Punisher Martinez (c) def. Chris Sabin in 8:00
(5) Bully Ray & Silas Young def. Flip Gordon & Colt Cabana in a Tables Match in 13:40
(6) The Bullet Club Elite (Cody, Marty Scurll, Adam Page & The Young Bucks) def. CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii, Rocky Romero, Chuckie T & Beretta) in 21:00
(7) Jay Lethal (c) def. Will Ospreay in 22:55

Supposedly, the last two matches saved the show. The main event was said to be extremely good and the best indication yet that Ospreay will make the transition to heavyweight status really easily. He worked a more deliberate pace and dialed down the high spots so they made more sense and suited the flow of the match. The Bullet Club & CHAOS match was said to be a fun group tag match with a lot of little angles developing through out the match.

After the main event, The Kingdom attacked Lethal, setting up a Matt Taven vs. Jay Lethal match at a later date.

Punisher Martinez has signed with the WWE.

I take it the Sabin match was good?

I enjoyed the 2 matches I was emotionally invested in and watched. Which was the tag title match and King vs. Liger.