Csonka’s ROH TV Review 6.24.15

Introduction
As a reminder, this will not be another traditional recap, but instead it will be a mash up of the Rs, Instant Analysis and my usual Twitter ramblings I would do during the shows; completely uncensored and as the ideas flow unfiltered to the old keyboard. Remember, this is a review; and I am here to review the show. As always, I encourage discussion and even disagreement, just do so in a respectful manner. I will be doing the review for Raw and most PPVs and iPPVs going forward.

ROH TV 6.24.15 – Episode 196

OFFICIAL RESULTS
– Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Roderick Strong @ 14:01 via pin [****]
– Michael Elgin defeated Gedo @ 4:47 via pin [**]
– Bullet Club defeated Okada & Rappongi Vice @ 19:22 via pin [****]

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Roderick Strong vs. Shinsuke Nakamura: Shinsuke Nakamura is not only one of New Japan’s best performers, but is also one of the very best in the world. Roderick Strong has been having an amazing 2015, and that includes ****+ matches with both KUSHIDA and Tanahashi on this tour. Lets see if Strong can go three for three in terms of awesome matches. They worked a nice beginning, with Strong controlling with some grappling and trying to work the arm of Nakamura. Nakamura would turn the tide and take Strong to the floor and connect with knee strikes. They worked through the commercial as they engaged in a striking battle, trading stiff forearms and then Strong connecting with the lumbar check for a near fall. These guys worked so well together, clean and smooth action through out the match with Strong controlling a lot of the way. Strong escaped a sliding Boma ye late and then another to score with the Stronghold, but Nakamura got the ropes. They had another striking exchange and Strong hit the sick kick and another back breaker for yet another near fall. Nakamura countered a back breaker late and hit the Boma ye, but Strong kicked out at 1. But after a brief Strong comeback, Nakamura finished him with the Boma ye. They had a great crowd and Nigel was really good on commentary here. This was great and a hell of a way to kick off the show.

Gedo vs. Michael Elgin: This was about the power of Elgin vs. the cheap tactics of Gedo. Gedo used eye poked early to counter Elgin. Elgin controlled most of the match, until he missed his big senton dive. This allowed Gedo to make a comeback and get a near fall off of a superkick. Elgin then hit the buckle bomb and then the sitout powerbomb for the win. This was essentially a squash, with little to no crowd reaction.

Kazuchika Okada & Rappongi Vice (Trent Berretta & Rocky Romero) vs. Bullet Club (AJ Styles, Nick and Matt Jackson) w/Gallows and Anderson: This is a match with a lot of history, with Okada and Styles feuding over the IWGP Title and the Bucks and Rappongi Vice feuding over the IWGP Jr. Tag Titles. Team Okada controlled early, but the first superkick of the match gave Bullet Club control as they worked through a commercial. Post commercial, Bullet Club kept the heat on Berretta for a while, until Berretta countered a senton. Romero finally got the hot tag, he ran wild for a bit as he turned the tide for his team all by himself. Okada and AJ both tagged in and had some good back and forth. It broke down late, with the Bucks and Rappongi Vice working against each other and a sweet doomsday knee strike on the floor by Vice. AJ hit bloody Sunday on Okada, but Okada would fight back with the tombstone and then sent AJ to the floor. We got a lot of the trademark stuff from all involved, and it was a fun main event, in some ways it lacked the high-octane offense and overall excitement of the Bullet Club vs. Kingdom matches, but it also had a better build to the finishing sequence instead of doing just a ton of fun stuff. The final four-minutes or so was really good as they just went wild with counters and finishes (and the crowd got into it at that point), but the lack of heat early and overall package wasn’t nearly as good as it could have been. Bullet Club then murdered Berretta with the spike hollow point, Meltzer Driver, superkicks into the clash finish. Yeah, that was awesome shit.

* End scene.

* Thanks for reading.

“Byyyyyyyyyyyyyye Felicia.”

8.5

The final score: review Very Good

The 411

This was easily the best effort by ROH since the move to Destination American. There was a no bullshit, and it was completely focused on wrestling and I appreciated that. Skip the middle squash, and make sure to watch the opener and the main event; they are easily worth your time and are both really enjoyable for different reasons. This was a really easy hour to watch and I really enjoyed it.