From The Shelf – ROH War of the Worlds 2015 Night One

ROH War of the Worlds Night One
5-12-15
Philadelphia, PA

Your hosts are Kevin Kelly and Steve Corino.

Adam Cole comes out and says tomorrow night will not be his in ring return. The doctors and ROH told him to be smarter about how he deals with his injuries and he tells the doctor and ROH to kiss his ass. He says he gets his redemption tonight and officially announces he is facing AJ Styles tonight. Adam Cole is back!

Delirious vs. Gedo
Delirious uses his antics to start and Gedo seems to approve. Gedo draws Delirious into the cheap shot and he throws some head butts to the midsection of Gedo. He charges in the corner but misses and eats the post shoulder first. Basement super kick by Gedo and he works over Delirious. Gedo chokes Delirious in the ropes and Delirious bites his hand to come back. Leaping clothesline by Delirious and he hits a swinging neck breaker. Elbow drop by Delirious gets 2. Cobra Clutch by Delirious but Gedo fights out. Gedo goes low and dropkicks Delirious in the leg. Gedo rolls Delirious up for 3!!!
Winner- Gedo **1/2 (Hey, nothing wrong with a purely fun match to start the show. Delirious antics are always fun to watch and Gedo was up for going along for the wackiness.)

KUSHIDA vs. Roderick Strong
Roll-up by KUSHIDA gets 1. KUSHIDA controls Strong on the mat early and Strong is shown to be frustrated as a result. Tilt-a-whirl head scissors by KUSHIDA and he steps on Strong’s face. Basement dropkick by KUSHIDA and he hits a Pele kick that knocks Strong off the apron. STRONG PULLS KUSHIDA OFF THE APRON AND CHUCKS HIM INTO THE APRON!!!!! Back in, Strong drops some knees to the midsection and they head to the floor. Strong throws a chop but misses and connects with the post!!!! KUSHIDA goes for the handspring Capo kick off the apron but Strong catches him with the Stronghold in the ropes!!!! Back in, Strong hits a back suplex onto his own shoulder and he drops more knees onto KUSHIDA. Fireman’s carry slam by Strong gets 2 and he goes to the rear waistlock. KUSHIDA fights out so Strong hits a dropkick for 2. Olympic Slam by Strong and he hits a second one for 2. KUSHIDA blocks a suplex and he hits a release Northern lights suplex. Enzuigiri from the apron by KUSHIDA and he cleans house. Handspring back elbow by KUSHIDA and he tilt-a-whirls into the Hoverboard lock but Strong gets to the ropes to break. Capo kick knocks Strong to the floor and KUSHIDA goes up. He dives onto Strong on the floor!!!!! KUSHIDA dropkicks Strong as he was coming in and he goes up. Moonsault off the top by KUSHIDA gets 2. They trade blows and Strong ends that with a knee strike!!!! They trade blows again and Strong hits an enzuigiri. Back suplex gordbuster by Strong gets 2. Corner knee strike by Strong and he puts KUSHIDA on top. Strong follows up and he hits a superplex for 2!!! KUSHIDA counters the gut buster into the Hoverboard Lock but STRONG ROLLS THROUGH INTO THE GUT BUSTER!!!! Sick Kick gets 2!!! End of Heartache gets 3!!!!
Winner- Roderick Strong ****1/2 (Who the hell saw this one coming. This was absolutely phenominal, with both guys just throwing bombs at one other and had some tremendous counter sequences that made you sit there and constantly wonder what they were going to do next. This was a must watch and that the fact this was MATCH TWO on the weekend is a great sign of things to come.)

Watanabe vs. Jay Lethal w/House of Truth
Prior to the match, Lethal says he is the greatest champion ROH has even seen and he discusses the other champion on the roster, Jay Briscoe. He promises to take his frustrations with Briscoe out on Watanabe. Release German suplexes by Watanabe and he clotheslines Lethal to the floor!!! Watanabe sends Lethal into the barricade and he puts Lethal on a chair. Dropkick knocks Lethal off the chair and back in, Lethal hits a springboard dropkick knocking Watanabe off the apron. Suicide dive by Lethal but WATANABE ANSWERS BACK WITH A RELEASE GERMAN SUPLEX ON THE FLOOR!!!!! Back in, Martini grabs the leg of Watanabe and the distraction allowing Lethal to knock him to the floor. Rapid suicide dives by Lethal and he sends Watanabe into the barricade. Lethal hammers away on Watanabe and back in, Lethal hits a back suplex for 2. Neck twist by Lethal and he rakes the face as Watanabe attempts a comeback. Clothesline by Lethal gets 2. Corner forearm by Lethal and he charges in the corner but misses. Clothesline by Watanabe and he sends Lethal hard into the corner a few times. Swinging neck breaker by Watanabe gets 2. Watanabe puts Lethal on top and follows up. Lethal fights him off and hits the Lethal Combination for 2 after it looked like Watanabe forgot to kick-out. They go up again and Watanabe is distracted by Martini, allowing him to walk into the Ace Crusher from Lethal. Lethal Injection by Lethal gets 3. Jay Briscoe comes out after the match but the House of Truth wants none of him.
Winner- Jay Lethal ***1/4 (I loved the beginning of the match with Watanabe being the relentless suplex machine but as the match progress, he became more playful with the crowd and wasn’t anything special. If he goes the rout of the suplex maniac and develops his moveset in that route, he could become something special for NJPW. Lethal’s heel work is outstanding and I see why ROH has faith in him in the main event scene now.)

The Kingdom (Matt Taven and Michael Bennett) vs. The Young Bucks (Matt and Nick Jackson) vs. The Addiction (Christopher Daniels and Frankie Kazarian)
The ROH, IWGP, and IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Titles are not on the line here. Taven and Nick start. Nick toys with Taven and connects with a dropkick. Bennett tags in and the Kingdom hit a double dropkick. Daniels tags in and he stomps away on Bennett. Slingshot elbow drop followed up by a slingshot leg drop from Kazarian gets 2. Side Russian leg sweep by Kazarian gets 2. Matt tags in and he hits a head scissors take over.Gutbuster/swinging neck breaker combo by the Bucks. Nick is pressed into a dropkick on Taven and he dropkicks Daniels off the apron. Bennett is tagged in and the Bucks double super kick Daniels off the apron. Bennett wants none of it so the Bucks hit stereo suicide dives onto Bennett. Suicide plancha to the floor by Taven!!! Back in, Taven covers Nick for 2. Tag to Bennett and he drops an elbow for 2. Chin lock by Bennett but Nick fights out. Spinning enzuigiri by Nick and Daniels tags in. Northern lariat into the double stomp to the back by the Addiction and they dump Bennett to the floor. The Addiction choke Bennett in the ropes and they work over Bennett in the corner. Bennett fights back but Daniels breaks up the potential comeback. Spinning heel kick by Kazarian gets 2. Half nelson by Daniels but Bennett fights out and catches Daniels with the spine buster. Matt tags in and he cleans house. Standing Sliced Bread #2 to Daniels and Matt throws some super kicks to Taven and Kazarian. Moonsault press to the floor onto Bennett and the Bucks hit a standing moonsault/top rope splash combo on Daniels for 2. Arabian Press to the floor by Daniels to Tavin. NICK SUPERKICKS KAZARIAN INTO A SUNSET FLIP BOMB OFF THE APRON BY MATT TO DANIELS!!!! Back in, Buckle Bomb/enzuigiri by the Bucks and they hit the Guillotine Swanton Bomb for 2. Dropkick/backpack jawbreaker combo by the Kingdom to Matt gets 2. Powerbomb/neck breaker combo by the Addiction to Taven gets 2 as the Bucks save. Curb Stomp by Daniels to Matt and he hits a suicide dive to the floor onto the Kingdom!!! Slingshot Ace Crusher by Kazarian to Nick gets 2. SUPERKICK PARTY~!!!!!!! Slingshot DDT by Daniels to Bennett and Nick misses a superkick on Daniels and hits the ref!!!! Matt charges with the belt but eats a Spear from Bennett. Taven nails Kazarian with a belt but eats a super kick. Meltzer Driver onto Kazarian gets 3!!!!
Winners- The Young Bucks **** (Awesome match. My only problem with the match was the choice to have the heat on Bennett since the crowd had no desire to get behind him to get the hot tag to the Bucks but other than that this was pure insanity and fun and was everything you could have wanted out of this.)

Moose comes out and Stokley Hathaway apologizes to Nigel McGuinness. He says he wants to go about things the right way and says Moose should be the #1 contender to the ROH World Championship. Veda Scott is a little harsher and she demands Moose gets a title opportunity. Veda tells Stokley to follow her lead and she declares Moose the future champion.

Michael Elgin vs. Tetsuya Naito
Naito with the early advantage but Elgin overpowers him to come back. Hip toss into the basement dropkick by Naito and he hits a second rope hurricanrana for 2. Elgin catches Naito coming back in with the summersault guillotine leg drop for 2. Elgin sends Naito hard into the corner and he hits a leg drop on the apron onto Naito. Elgin goes for a powerbomb on the floor but Naito backdrops out. Back in, Elgin counters the Tornado DDT into a tornado suplex for 2. Chin lock by Elgin but Naito fights out. Naito cleans house and he hits the standing summersault senton. Slingshot dropkick in the corner by Naito gets 2. Rolling elbow to the back of the head by Elgin and he follows up with a forward one for 2. Bicycle kick by Elgin but Naito comes back with the enzuigiri. Tornado DDT by Naito gets 2. They go up and Naito hits the Frankensteiner for 2. Slam by Naito and he goes up but Elgin dropkicks him. He follows up and Naito blocks the superplex. Elgin blocks the Sunset Flip Bomb and he hits a Codebreaker off the second rope. Double stomp to the back by Elgin and he hits a lariat for 2. Buckle Bomb by Elgin and he goes for the Elgin Bomb but Naito counters into the Victory roll for 3!!!
Winner- Tetsuya Naito ***1/2 (The work in this match was great. Elgin was physical and intense but Naito’s agility and counter ability caught Elgin at the right time to pick up the win. Unfortunatly, the crowd really isn’t into Elgin like they probably should be. Elgin is missing that energy and aura that made people love him a few years ago and he needed to find that special something again if he hopes to have a memorable run in the G1 Climax.)

reDRagon (Kyle O’Reilly and Bobby Fish) vs. Jushin Liger and Hiroshi Tanahashi
O’Reilly and Liger start. Liger catches O’Reilly in the Rowboat and he stretches O’Reilly. Mexican surfboard by Liger and he again stretches O’Reilly in the hold. Fish and Tanahashi tag in. Tanahashi controls Fish and he hits a springboard crossbody. He begins to work the arm of Fish and Fish fights out before tagging in O’Reilly. Tanahashi works his arm and Liger tags in. Fish sweeps the legs of Liger and O’Reilly hits a sliding knee knocks Liger to the floor. Back in, O’Reilly covers for 2. Back elbow by O’Reilly and he grabs a rear abdominal stretch. Tag to Fish and he hits a kick to the chest for 2. Tag to O’Reilly and they hit a double suplex for 2. O’Reilly counters the sunset flip into the Cross Arm Breaker but Tanahashi breaks it up. Tag to Fish and he hits the Hilo for 2. Tag to O’Reilly and Liger catches him with a tilt-a-whirl back breaker. Tag to Tanahashi and he hits the flying forearm to Fish. Dragon screw leg sweep to O’Reilly and he grabs the Texas Cloverleaf. He blocks a kick attempt from Fish and hits another Dragon Screw leg sweep. Tanahashi goes up and hits a second rope Swanton Bomb for 2. O’Reilly throws some strikes and sweeps the leg of Tanahashi. Tag to Fish and they battle for a suplex. Tanahashi ends that with a swinging neck breaker and Liger tags in. Palm Thrust by Liger gets 2. Liger Bomb gets 2 as O’Reilly saves. Tanahashi is low bridged o the floor and Fish rams Tanahashi into the barricade. Dropkick off the apron by O’Reilly to Tanahashi. Tilt-a-whirl backbreaker/knee drop combo onto Liger gets 2. Chasing the Dragon on Liger gets 3.
Winner- reDRagon ***1/4 (Pretty good match but you can’t help but feel this match had more gas in the tank than it showed. It was designed to be an easy match for Liger and Tanahashi and they did a good job making reDRagon look like the killer them that they are so this worked as a fun exhibition even though you know they could have gone crazy if they really wanted to.)

Adam Cole vs. AJ Styles
Both men battle for early control and Cole seems to win the first battle. DVD back breaker by Styles and Cole misses a dropkick. Suplex by Styles gets 2. Cole fights back but Styles catches him with a dropkick, knocking Cole to the floor. Cole catches Styles with a wheelbarrow suplex onto the apron!!! Back in, Cole stomps away on Styles in the corner and he hits the Shining Wizard for 2. Rear chin lock by Cole but Styles begins to fight out. Styles suplexes Cole into the corner and he hits the Torture Rack Bomb for 2. Release suplex into a back breaker by Cole gets 2. They go up and Styles sweeps the leg of Cole, bringing him down ono the turnbuckle. Styles springboards in but Cole catches him with a super kick for 2. Figure-4 by Cole but Styles makes the ropes to break. Styles blocks the German suplex off the apron and STYLES HITS BLOODY SUNDAY ON THE APRON!!!!! Cole makes it back in before the twenty count and they trade strikes. Basement super kick by Cole gets 2. Cole sunset flips Styles and goes for the Styles’ Clash but his shoulder gives out. Cole connects with the Styles’ Clash on the second attempt for 2!!! Super kick from behind by Cole and he hits a Release German suplex. Pele by Styles and he hits the inverted Tombstone!!! A second one by Styles and he turns it into the Styles’ Clash for 3!!!
Winner- AJ Styles **** (Just an awesome comeback match for Adam Cole. He looked fantastic in his return and I loved he played his surgically repaired shoulder into the match. He was too over confident picking a fight with one of the best wrestlers on the planet and Styles just destroyed him in the finish.)

Kazuchika Okada and Shinsuke Nakamura w/Gedo vs. The Briscoes (Jay and Mark Briscoe)
Okada and Jay start. Jay goes for the Jay Driller quickly but Okada is able to avoid it. Tag to Nakamura and Mark. Mark targets the leg of Nakamura but Nakamura is able to counter and goes for the arm but Mark rolls him up for 2 to force a break. Mark and Nakamura attempt to weird each other out and Mark low bridges Nakamura to the floor. Dropkick through the ropes by Mark and he works over Nakamura on the floor. Nakamura sends Mark into the barricade and he hits a running knee lift onto Mark. Guillotine knee drop on the apron by Nakamura and back in, Okada tags in. Snap mare and Okada hits a basement dropkick. Tag to Nakamura and he snap mares Mark into a knee drop for 2. Chin lock by Nakamura but Mark breaks with a jaw breaker. Knees in the corner by Nakamura and he charges in the corner but eats boot. Nakamura knocks Jay off the apron to break up the tag and he walks into a DVD from Mark. Tag to Jay and he throws some uppercuts. Sitting neck breaker by Jay gets 2. Spinning heel kick by Nakamura and Okada tags in. DDT by Okada and Mark tags in. Big boot by Okada and he slams Mark into the Hilo. Jay tags in and he catches Okada with a lariat. Jay stomps away in the corner and Mark tags in. Suplex by Mark gets 2. Tag to Jay and he hits a suplex. Chin lock by Jay but Okada begins to fight out. Air Raid back breaker by Okada and Nakamura tags in. Enzuigiri by Nakamura and he puts Jay on top. Running knee lift in the corner by Nakamura gets 2. They trade blows and Jay hits a big boot to Nakamura. Sit-out gordbuster by Jay gets 2. Nakamura blocks the Jay Driller and hits the release back suplex. Jay catches Nakamura with a spine buster and both men are down. Tag to Okada and Mark. Flapjack by Okada and he grabs the STF. Jay breaks it up and Okada dumps him to the floor. Lariat by Mark gets 2 as Nakamura saves. Splash mountain/neck breaker combo to Nakamura and Mark goes up. Okada shoves Jay into Mark, crotching Mark and Okada dropkicks him to the floor. Jay catches Okada with a DVD and Mark goes up. Froggy Bow by Mark gets 2!!!! Dropkick by Okada and he caches Jay with the DVD. Boma Ye! To Jay by Nakamura. Okada slams Mark and he goes up. Flying Elbow Drop by Okada and he hits the Rainmaker for 3!!!
Winners- Kazuchika Okada and Shinsuke Nakamua ***3/4 (Excellent main event. The match was a bit slow and prodding in the first half and I was conserned we were going to get a showcase in a similar vain to the Tanahashi/Liger match but things picked up nicely in the closing stretch and they were letting it all hang loose. This was missing something whether it was a more dramatic heat segment or a more intense pace that would have put this over the top, but it was a great finish to an outstanding show. )

After the match, Bobby Fish grabs the ROH World Championship and parades around with it as Jay is held back, hyping their match the next night.

9.0

The final score: review Amazing

The 411

The first show of the ROH/New Japan series of shows surpassed anything from last year's effort. This was quality wrestling up and down the card, with three matches standing out as being absolutely fantastic. The New Japan came with their working boots on and the results was one of the most consistently great cards from any promotion in 2015 to date. Everything seemed to click on this card with Cole's return being a huge success and ROH mainstays like Strong and the Briscoes looked at the level of their New Japan counterparts. This was a great sign that we were in store for a hell of a series of shows between these two promotions and you should absolutely go out of your way to catch this show, it's a sleeper show of the year contender.