Csonka’s ROH/NJPW Global Wars iPPV Review 5.15.15

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/NJPW Global Wars iPPV Review 5.15.15

OFFICIAL RESULTS
~ Moose and Gedo defeated Silas Young and Watanabe @ 8:00 via pin [**]
~ KUSHIDA defeated Chris Sabin and Kyle O’Reilly @ 10:00 via submission [***¼]
~ The Kingdom defeated Matt Sydal & Jushin Liger @ 9:00 via pin [***]
~ Kazuchika Okada defeated Cedric Alexander @ 14:00 via pin [***¾]
~ ROH Tag Team Title Match Champions The Addiction defeated The Decade and Roppongi Vice @ 15:00 via pin [***]
~ Shinsuke Nakamura defeated ACH @ via [***½]
~ ROH TV Title Match: Champion Jay Lethal defeated Tetsuya Naito @ 13:00 via pin [***]
~ Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Michael Elgin @ 16:00 via pin [***¾]
~ Team ROH defeated Bullet Club @ 17:00 via pin [****¼]

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Moose and Gedo vs. Silas Young and Watanabe: This was an acceptable, but weak opener. There was nothing wrong with it so to speak, it just lacked. The crowd was a bit in and out of it, and the whole thing was a showcase for Moose. I have no problem with that, as they have been pushing him and he’s been getting good crowd reactions, but the opener is so important to get the crowd into the show early and I felt that this failed in that regard. Considering some of the other matches they have set for tonight, I wouldn’t have gone with this as the opener.

Chris Sabin vs. KUSHIDA vs. Kyle O’Reilly: Bobby Fish couldn’t make the show due to travel issues, so reDRagon has been pulled from the ROH tag title match later in the show. Since O’Reilly did make the show, he was added into this match. This was what the opener should have been. They worked a very good pace, they worked very well together and produced a good match that didn’t do too much too early, and never felt as if it went too long. Most importantly, they avoided the trap of the three-way match and rarely had it one on one, instead working some very nice three-way spots and trying to keep the feeling that the action was constant. Considering it was a late replacement, they more than delivered an enjoyable match.

Matt Sydal & Jushin Liger vs. The Kingdom (Bennett & Taven): So far the card has a very “New Japan” feel to it, keeping the undercard matches shorter but also not including much bullshit. I am completely fine with this, not every match needs to be long and the later matches will need their time. It has also provided a nice flow to the show so far. The Kingdom are very hit and miss with me, so the short format worked well for all involved here. They got the heat on Liger, Sydal got a really fun hot tag, Maria distracted Liger by shaking her tits and allowing Liger to take a motorboat ride…

#GlobalWars pic.twitter.com/7pZicKll37

— LARIATOOOOO!!! (@SenorLARIATO) May 16, 2015

…and that allowed The Kingdom to score with Hail Mark on Sydal to secure the win. The winners were never in doubt here, due to The Kingdom being the IWGP tag team champions, but the action was good and this was an enjoyable match. Personally I was hoping for a Liger singles match here, since he busts his ass in those when in the US, but this worked.

Kazuchika Okada vs. Cedric Alexander: These guys were supposed to face off last year, but they reshuffled late and put Okada into another match so Cedric gets his big chance this year. These two had a very good chemistry, and Cedric was working really hard here to make an impression and that resulted in the best match on the show thus far. The work was clean, and they built well to the home stretch. The combination of the work in the ring and the commentary not only put over how badly Cedric was fighting for the win, but also how badly he felt he needed it. This is another match that you knew Okada was winning, but the overall package in regards to storytelling made it believable that Cedric could win, and that’s all I can ask for. Okada scored with the tombstone and RAIN MAKA for the win. Cedric refused the handshake post match. I would love to see Cedric get a shot with New Japan.

Rainmaker #GlobalWars pic.twitter.com/5W4ysgqlyj

— LARIATOOOOO!!! (@SenorLARIATO) May 16, 2015

ROH Tag Team Title Match: Champions The Addiction vs. The Decade vs. Roppongi Vice: This was another good match, which has been the running theme. The match lost some luster for me due to reDRagon being pulled due to Fish’s travel issues, and my general dislike for the Decade. They just don’t do anything for me as far as entertainment goes. Add into the fact that reDRagon were the only pure babyface team in the match and we lost them and it hurt things a bit. But the action was good. I really enjoyed the work between Roppongi Vice and the champions, which I felt carried the match. Roppongi Vice hit the double team Omori driver on page, but Daniels made the save and Kazarian stole the pin to allow the champions to retain.

ACH vs. Shinsuke Nakamura: Shinsuke Nakamura is simply one of the very best in the world right now, and ACH is a guy that a lot of people like and want to see succeed. A match with Nakamura is a huge opportunity for him, and I felt that he delivered a good performance here. Their personalities added a lot to the match, and ACH’s highflying style worked well as juxtaposed against the King of Strong Style. I felt as if Nakamura wasn’t working full tilt, but he was giving in the match and did work hard. In the end, Nakamura won with the Bome ye, in a good, but a bit disappointing match. I had hoped for more is the reason for that, what we got was good and I enjoyed it, but I feel that they have something much better in them.

ROH TV Title Match: Champion Jay Lethal vs. Tetsuya Naito: Jay lethal is a guy who has been having a great run in ROH, but isn’t getting a lot of love. He’s had some excellent performances and had done a lot for the TV Title. The story that he thinks he’s the greatest champion in ROH is something I also enjoy. Naito is another guy I really enjoy and feel that if he came to the US he’d fit in very well and have a lot of success. They worked really well together, and Naito was booked to really give the feeling that he could win the title, which is appreciated. But the match lacked something, and I really feel that they did not need Donovan Dijak out there with Lethal and doing the poor man’s Truth Martini cheating shit. It took away from the overall presentation in my opinion. I’d call this your basically Jay Lethal match, it was good, it was fun but was also lacking the heat and final chapter to make it great.

Michael Elgin vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi: up to this point, this was one of the better matches on the show. Elgin had a lot to prove here, as word is that he wants to get in New Japan, but wasn’t invited after last year’s shows. He had the opportunity here to impress against the company’s biggest star. They had a good match, working well together and Tanahashi having the main event style match working boots on. This developed into a power vs. speed style match, with Elgin working strikes and throws and Tanahashi trying to connect with the high fly flow. This one also lacked in crowd reaction to me, they seemed to like it, but you’d think that Elgin in Toronto would have been treated like a bigger deal, and he dimply wasn’t. Add that into the fact that the match never felt like it got to the high end closing stretch and that the finish came out of nowhere, and it just didn’t get to great. Still a good outing for Elgin and nice to see Tanahashi working as hard as he did. Tanahashi took the buckle bomb, but rebounded out with the sling blade and then hit the high fly flow for the win.

ROH All Stars vs. Bullet Club: Briscoes, War Machine & Roderick Strong vs. Karl Anderson, Doc Gallows, The Young Bucks & AJ Styles: This was one of those matches that never pretended to be a traditional match; it was designed to be a wild athletic display with all of the guys hitting their signature moves and keeping a great pace. Everyone was great here, hell they made me care about HASON and that has never happened. This was chaotic beauty in a ring, everyone got a chance to shine and it was a very great way to end the show. This match felt like a main event, it felt important and it had those components that the earlier matches were missing. It was completely different from anything else presented, which not only made it stand out more, but also makes you appreciate it more. Tremendous way to close the show. The Jay Driller and Froggy Bow finished off Matt Jackson for team ROH.

* End scene.

* Thanks to @SenorLARIATO for the gifs.

* Thanks for reading.

“Byyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyye Felicia!”

8.0

The final score: review Very Good

The 411

Overall this is a very enjoyable show, with a lot of good matches to sit back and enjoy. Most of the outcomes were predictable, due to who held titled and positions relative to the company that the wrestlers represented, but there was very little to complain about. It is a show that with a better crowd and some slight changes could have been great, but it’s very well worth checking out even if you don’t follow either product religiously. You don’t need to on a show like this, it’s all about putting on good wrestling and I feel that they did that.