411’s ROH Final Battle PPV Preview

~THE STAFF~
* Jake Chambers
* Mitch Nickelson
* Mike Hammerlock

The Cabinet vs. Sabin, Shelley and Dijak
Mitch Nickelson : The Cabinet had one of the worst gimmicks in all of wrestling with their recent goofy political shtick. Thankfully, they ended that and took a more serious tone. I think that’ll work out far better for them and a win over the team of MCMGs plus Dijak would be a solid way to establish them as future contenders for the new 6-Man Tag Team Championships.

WINNER: The Cabinet

Jake Chambers: With ROH introducing the 6-man tag team “division” that no one asked for, it seems the regular tag team “division” has just become a temporary feeder system for larger factions, as the only tag team match on this card is the title match (no War Machine/Taylor & Lee blow-off match kind of sucks). The All Night Express and Motor City Machine Guns are now jockeying for position in the 6-man ranks it seems, and I’m not sure if these teams will be bringing anything different to a 3-on-3 environment than they would in a regular tag. My guess here is the newly re-packaged Cabinet gets the win and this Sabin/Shelley angle of looking for a new member of the MCMGs leads to discontent with them and the criminally underused Dijak.

WINNER: The Cabinet

Mike Hammerlock: This match has a classic ROH feel to it. The promotion made its bones by just throwing talented guys in the ring with a “let’s see what happens” attitude about it. I don’t know how any of these guys fit into ROH’s germinal trios division (and count me among those who prefer either a tag division or a trios division – Chikara gets it right with a tag division and a trios tournament), but it’s hard to complain about the humans in the ring. The All-Night Express (Kenny King and Rhett Titus) and the Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin) haven’t managed to climb to the top of the ROH tag heap over the past year, which is a bummer because they’re two of my favorite tag teams in the business. Donovan Dijak is atheletic and he’s built like he’s Vince McMahon’s wet dream. At some point he’s going to be one of the biggest guys in the business, right? Or maybe he’s the next Xavier. Yet King and Titus have teamed with Caprice Coleman and they’ve got new faction name: the Cabinet. You can’t beat branding. Three random guys vs. a team with a name? Pretty easy to call the winner on that.

WINNER: The Cabinet

Colt Cabana vs. Dalton Castle
Mitch Nickelson : The world wasn’t good enough for a long term tag run involving Colt Cabana and Dalton Castle, apparently. Castle took a knee to the groin as Colt heel turned on him. I don’t know if he’s a complete heel, but he’s definitely a jerk to Dalton now. I can see this being a several month feud that Castle ultimately wins, so I’m calling Colt to win this contest by less than honorable methods.

WINNER: Colt Cabana

Jake Chambers: I think ROH totally flipped the wrong guy in this feud. The flamboyant and cocky Dalton Castle gimmick works so much better, in my opinion, as a bad guy, and Cabana is one of the most lovable losers in the history of the indy scene. But, OK, we’ve got an indigent, not funny Cabana and a angry-faced, revenge-minded Castle (because of one low blow?) in grudge match #1 in what is destined to be a feud that stretches for like what, 6 months, given ROH’s general creative track record.

WINNER: Colt Cabana

Mike Hammerlock: Dalton Castle needs to channel his Ashley Remington persona a bit. Just be the most excellent person alive. Then we can love him unconditionally. I’m not sure ROH is the proper promotion for this feud. It’s a little too serious. Goofy isn’t inside its comfort zone. For instance, why is either one of these guys a heel? That’s not required. They should be feuding over who has the best Bollywood-inspired entrance or who gets to call himself the Grand Duke of ROH. As for the winner here, much as I love Cabana, Castle should continue his steady rise up the ladder.

WINNER: Dalton Castle

Jushin Liger vs. Silas Young
Mitch Nickelson : I really, really like Silas Young’s character. He’s this greasy friend of your dad that’s got a short fuse with punk millennials, which makes him hard to peg as a heel in my book. I’m not sure ROH sees as much value in him as I’d wish so I’m not hopeful that he’ll pull out the win here. Just like with Tyler Breeze, Liger’s coming to the states for a victory.

WINNER: Jushin Liger

Jake Chambers: If it’s going to mean anything in 2016 for someone to beat Jushin Liger, then he must be a threat to win, and to be a threat to win he has to actually win matches sometimes. Who better to beat than another ROH mid-card lifer doomed to this company’s creative hamster wheel. Besides, betting against New Japan wrestlers in ROH is like thinking John Cena is gonna lose clean on PPV.

WINNER: Jushin Liger

Mike Hammerlock: I have at times in the past noted that Jushin Liger doesn’t cross the Pacific Ocean to lose, at least not very often. And good for him. He’s a living legend. If he starts doing the job for guys like Silas Young, then he’s a washed up legend. You can see the difference. I’m not saying that to belittle Young, but he’s a gatekeeper in ROH. Beating him is proof that you’re legit. Liger obviously doesn’t need the rub, but Young can work a good, stiff match. Makes for a nice showcase on a big card.

WINNER: Jushin Liger

Cody Rhodes vs. Jay Lethal
Jake Chambers: I saw Sin Cara vs. Stardust open a WWE house show post-Wrestlemania this year, and it was an incredible match to see live. They had the crowd biting on every tick and tock, and Cody’s mannerisms as Stardust was a particular highlight, he exuded exceptional evil charisma and played a perfect foil for the personality-free yet super heroic Sin Cara. That was where Cody Rhodes belongs. The big exaggerated moves and clockwork pacing of the WWE house show style can be truly fantastic to behold when done well, which Cody was born and bred to do – NOT wrestling on the pseudo-indy scene. And so being brought in here to work a no-storyline, no build-up, mid-card match against a veteran of the ROH style in front of a Final Battle Manhattan crowd, feels like a disastrous spot for Cody. I expect an out of place and mediocre match that will have some kind of wonky finish to protect the free agent and the main event-er.

WINNER: Double DQ / Time Limit Draw / etc.

Mitch Nickelson : This is another hard one to call because I’m not sure if this is a one match thing or if there are plans on extending this further. Going off the logic that the new guy in the company needs a big win to be cemented as a top contender, I see Rhodes defeating former ROH Champion Jay Lethal. He might not go on to win the ROH Title soon but I do think he’ll have a challenge in the coming months.

WINNER: Cody Rhodes

Mike Hammerlock: My pick for match that steals the show. Cody needs a statement fight in the indies, something to establish himself as the sort of ****+ worker you dare not miss. Lethal needs to demonstrate that he’s still the man after carrying the promotion on his back for more than year. Both guys can work at a rapid pace and I’m guessing they’ll be whipping out moves we’ve never seen from them. The entire point of this match is to make sure you drop money when either one headlines in the future. Both of them are up to the job.

WINNER: Jay Lethal

ROH Six Man Tag Team Championship Tournament Final: Lio Rush, Jay White & KUSHIDA vs. TK O’Ryan, Vinny Marseglia & Matt Taven
Mitch Nickelson : The not-Kingdom team is such an awesome line-up of young flippy guys. I expect this to be an exciting matchup. Even so, they’re a temporary amalgamation while Matt Taven has a revamped crew he’s trying to get over. New Kingdom for the win.

WINNER: Taven’s New Kingdom

Jake Chambers: Feels like the whole tournament was built for The “New” Kingdom to win it all, so what more of an ROH-thing is there to do but make them lose? Rush, White and KUSHIDA are great, quick and fun as individuals, and so even if they weren’t ever a team during the tournament they are in the finals for, I’m anticipating that they will elevate the quality of this match and get something exciting out of the dreary team that perennial ROH dud Taven has put together.

WINNER: Lio Rush, Jay White & KUSHIDA

Mike Hammerlock: These teams feel more than a bit thrown together, which gives this match more than a bit of New Japan feel. You can’t really think too hard about why each of these trios exist. They just do, and now a fight will ensue. The winner will go on to have more fights against other hastily assembled teams, perhaps even in New Japan events. Hey, KUSHIDA and Jay White work primarily in the New Japan and Lio Rush is a rapidly rising sub-200 lb. talent that New Japan surely would love to start booking. I think we have our winner.

WINNER: Lio Rush, Jay White & KUSHIDA

ROH Tag Team Championship Match: The Young Bucks vs. The Briscoes
Mitch Nickelson : Oh man, do I love me some Young Bucks. Even without special stipulations, they’re guaranteed to have one of the most exciting matches of the night. The Briscoes will give them a hard-fought challenge but there’s no reason to end their title reign here.

WINNER: The Young Bucks.

Jake Chambers: “You know you’re watching ROH when…” The Young Bucks vs. The Briscoes feels like a match that could have been on every ROH show for like the past 8 years now. I think no matter who wins here, it feels like in 5 years we’ll be talking about this match-up all over again.

WINNER: The Briscoes

Mike Hammerlock: The Briscoes haven’t been ROH tag champs for almost four years, which is the longest they’ve ever gone without the belts. They have won the tag titles at Final Battle three times (2009, 2011, 2012). Simply put, they are due. The Bucks currently hold the ROH, PWG and IWGP Jr. Heavyweight tag titles. They really are the Elite. I’d main event this match. Other matches might seem bigger inside the ROH fishbowl at this moment, but Briscoes vs. Bucks are in an ongoing battle to be considered the top tag team of this generation. Understand when you’re making history. They’ve squared off 2v2 11 times in their history. The Briscoes are 7-3-1. They do seem to have the Bucks’ number and I suspect most people expect the Briscoes to finally get their 9th reign in ROH. Yet I’m picking the champs for the upset win.

WINNER: Young Bucks

ROH TV Championship Match: Marty Scurll vs. Will Ospreay vs. Bobby Fish vs. Dragon Lee

Jake Chambers: I’m thinking ROH isn’t going to stop the hot potato-ing of this belt just yet, and why should they? If they want to establish these new British signings as legit threats, but also establish the CMLL partnership as important, then Dragon Lee is the only guy here who hasn’t won the TV title, so let him walk away with it next, right?

WINNER: Dragon Lee

Mike Hammerlock: Well, this should be frantic. Fish had been the champion until the ROH tour of the United Kingdom two weeks ago. First Ospreay beat Fish, then two nights late Scurll beat Ospreay. So you can see why 3/4 of the guys are in this match. Dragon Lee is a young luchador hotshot, whose job is probably to hit some big spots along the way. Got to figure it comes down to Scurll and Ospreay, who were ballyhooed (that’s a British word) signings for ROH earlier in the year. Scurll in particular spurned the advances of Paul Heyman, who plead the case for him to work in EVOLVE. So maybe he gets to keep his belt.

WINNER: Marty Scurll

ROH Championship Match: Adam Cole vs. Kyle O’Reilly
Jake Chambers: Ugh, what’s the over/under on last-breath big move/finisher kick-outs and unnecessary prolonged submission holds in this one? Couldn’t be a better match to round out a lethargic year of ROH Wrestling than two guys you’ve seen fight over-and-over for years. I can’t figure out the advantage of either guy winning. Adam Cole as a personality is a total drag, and carries the stink of the Bullet Club like when Scott Steiner was leading his branch of the nWo. O’Reilly brings the better matches, but with him being champ feels a lot like a step back to the Eddie Edwards, Davey Richards, Roderick Strong era of 2010s MMA-ish grapplin’. But since ROH seems incapable of ever really booking a strong baby-face champion, I’m just assuming they’ll stick with the monotonous heel here.

WINNER: Adam Cole

Mitch Nickelson: I really like Kyle O’Reilly but I don’t buy him as ROH Champion at this point. Adam Cole’s Bullet Club leadership role serves the company well as the face of ROH, let’s kept things as it. I don’t see any reason why that needs shaken up. I guess a win here in a hard fought match could be what makes O’Reilly as the THE guy in ROH but I can’t make that pick right now.

Mike Hammerlock: Here’s a quick history of Cole and O’Reilly. Cole beat O’Reilly for Chikara’s Young Lions Cup in 2010. Immediately afterward they began to tag together in ROH. The partnership lasted more than two years and they never won anything. Along the way Cole became an indie singles star. He won the ROH TV title and the PWG title and beat O’Reilly in challenges for both belts. In 2014, O’Reilly took the PWG belt from Cole, which Cole had held for a record 538 days. Cole spent much of 2015 in ROH beating O’Reilly, including a grudge match at last year’s Final Battle. For the most part, Cole was the Shawn Michaels of their tag pairing and O’Reilly was the Marty Jannetty. O’Reilly beat Cole in a no holds barred match at ROH Supercard of Honor in April and has had Cole’s number in three different ROH multi-man matches since then. It’s set up as Cole being O’Reilly’s personal mountain to climb. Now he just needs to win the big one. From a storytelling standpoint, they’ve been building to this for more than a year. Hard to believe O’Reilly doesn’t get the win.

WINNER: Kyle O’Reilly

411 will have live converge of the show starting at 8PM ET tonight…