Csonka’s ROH Bound by Honor Night One (4.27.18) Review

Csonka’s ROH Bound by Honor Night One (4.27.18) Review

OFFICIAL RESULTS
– Jay Lethal defeated Scorpio Sky @ 11:06 via pin [**¾]
– Josh Woods defeated Shane Taylor @ 6:50 via pin [**]
– Deonna Purrazzo defeated Kelly Klein @ 5:50 via pin [**]
– Marty Scurll defeated Kenny King @ 10:47 via pin [**¾]
– Adam Page & The Young Bucks defeated The Kingdom @ 16:20 via pin [***]
– Coast 2 Coast defeated The Dawgs (Titus & Ferrara), Frankie Kazarian & Christopher Daniels, and Silas Young & Beer City Bruiser @ 15:10 via pin [**]
– Cody defeated Punishment Martinez @ 7:05 via pin [**½]
– Non-Title Proving Ground Match: Champion Dalton Castle vs. Flip Gordon @ 15:45 via pin [**½]
– ROH Tag Team Title Match: Champions The Briscoes defeated The Motor City Machineguns @ 13:00 via pin [**½]

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– Live from West Palm Beach, Florida.

Jay Lethal vs. Scorpio Sky: Sky attacks before the bell, but Lethal quickly cuts him off, dumps him and his a trio of suicide dives. Back in and Lethal hits the cartwheel into the dropkick. The side back breaker follows for 2. Lethal hits the shin breaker, but Sky bails and avoids the figure four. Sky then cuts him off and lays the boots to Lethal. The clothesline follows for 2. Sky takes the heat, grounding Lethal. Lethal manages to fire back with chops, but Sky hits a big backdrop. They trade strikes, but Sky hits a dropkick, covering for 2. He grounds things again, and then rakes the eyes. They work to the floor, and then quickly back in. Sky now works a nerve pinch, Lethal fights to his feet and elbows out. Chops follow and Lethal looks for a suplex, Sky fights, but Lethal finally hits it. Lethal hits the Lethal combination, and heads up top. The elbow drop is blocked, but he locks in the figure four. Sky fights and makes the ropes. Lethal looks for it again, Sky cradles him and that gets 2. Sky hits a running knee strike, covering for 2. Sky now springboards in, cut off and Lethal hits the Lethal injection for the win. Jay Lethal defeated Scorpio Sky @ 11:06 via pin [**¾] This was a pretty good opener, there was nothing wrong with it, but it never got out of second gear and was well below the standards of a Lethal match.

Shane Taylor vs. Josh Woods: MMA fighter King Mo is cornering Woods. Taylor cuts a promo and calls Mo a “fake ass Rampage Jackson,” and promises to KO Woods. Taylor attacks at the bell, and they trade strikes. Taylor quickly cuts Woods off and takes the fight to the floor. They brawl, and Taylor slams him onto the apron. He then hits an apron leg drop. Taylor then slams him to the barricade. Taylor does it again, and follows with a cannonball against the barricade. Back in and Taylor lays in chops, and then clotheslines. Taylor talks shit to Mo, allowing Woods to hit a springboard knee. He follows with strikes and hits a German for 2. Woods hits more knee strikes, covering for 2. Taylor hits a head butt, and knee strike. The uranage and splash gets 2. Taylor to the floor and grabs a chair. Mo tries to stop him, Woods kicks it into his face and hits the GTS for the win. Josh Woods defeated Shane Taylor @ 6:50 via pin [**] This was short, and ok overall; too much bullshit with Mo.

– Taylor knocks out Woods and teases a fight with Mo, but bails.

– Mandy Leon joins commentary.

Deonna Purrazzo vs. Kelly Klein: Klein cuts a pre-match promo, and thanks the fans for being here to see her humiliate “Deonna Dashwood.” Deonna attacks at the bell, and dumps Klein to the floor. She hits an apron PK to the arm and follows with a high cross off of the apron. Deonna then slams Klein to the barricade and then the apron. Back in and Deonna starts to work the arm, but Klein hits forearms and a big boot for 2. Deonna follows with strikes, but Klein cuts her off with a knee strike, sending Deonna to the floor. Klein now slams her to the barricade, and rolls back in. Deonna back in and works a guillotine in the ropes. She breaks and they end up in a double down. They trade strikes, and Deonna hits a bicycle kick. Klein hits a suplex and transitions into the guillotine, but Deonna counters into a cradle for the win. Deonna Purrazzo defeated Kelly Klein @ 5:50 via pin [**] This was only ok, it lacked all of the intensity of the build, where Deonna was promising to break her arm. It was just an ok, and flat match.

– The briefly brawl post match.

Kenny King vs. Marty Scurll: They work a nice back and forth opening stretch, Scurll looks to work the arm, but King picks up the pace, hits arm drags, and grounds the action. King takes tome to mock Scurll, and follows with a dropkick. He hits a slam and slingshot leg drop, covering for 2. Scurll cuts him off and starts attacking the hands and arm. The apron superkick follows and Scurll shoots the bird to the crowd. Back in and Scurll lays the boots to King in the corner. Scurll maintains the heat, and then grounds the action. King finally escapes and hits a leg lariat. He follows with jabs, hits a clothesline, and then a spin kick. The spinebuster follows. Scurll bails to the floor. King follows with a tornillo. Back in and King covers for 2. Scurll now hits an inverted suplex and piledriver for 2. King hits a kick and knee buster, but Scurll gets the Gedo clutch for 2. Scurll hits a clothesline, they work up top and King hits a head kick. Scurll counters the royal flush into a chicken wing attempt, King escapes, and Scurll then sits down on a sunset flip attempt, grabs the ropes and picks up the win. Marty Scurll defeated Kenny King @ 10:47 via pin [**¾] This was a pretty good match, but like most of the card, felt as if there was no real sense of urgency or a good flow to the match. I expected more.

– Post match, the Kingdom attacks Scurll. Bullet Club makes the save and we have our next match.

The Kingdom vs. Adam Page & The Young Bucks: The Kingdom sends them to the floor and mocks rise of the terminator, but eat superkicks. The Bucks & page show them how it’s done and hit dives. This leads to floor brawling. The Bucks take the heat on O’Ryan, working double teams and quick tags. Taven tags in and cuts off Matt with a running knee strike. Vinny in and they work double teams on Matt. They rip of the weight belt and start working the injured back of Matt Jackson. The Kingdom keeps control with ease, keeping Matt isolated and continually working the back of Matt. Every time Matt tries to fire up, they g back to his back to keep the heat. Taven now works the crab until Matt makes the ropes. tries to fire up and make the tag, but Taven cuts him off. He almost makes the tag, but the Kingdom pulls Nick and page to the floor. Taven hits a frog splash for 2. Matt finally makes the tag to Page. He runs wild, hits a cradle piledriver and it breaks down. Nick in and he runs wild, working the best hot tag in wrestling and picking up a near fall. He and Matt work double teams, and they lock in sharp shooters until Taven breaks it up. O’Ryan cuts off Matt, but eats a superkick. Superkicks for Taven and then for Vinny. Taven cuts off the Meltzer driver, Vinny hits Mat in the back with a bat and that gets a near fall. Matt escapes rock star supernova, and Marty arrives and makes the save. Page hits rite of passage on O’Ryan for the win. Adam Page & The Young Bucks defeated The Kingdom @ 16:20 via pin [***] This was a good match, with the Kingdom dominating until Marty finally got involved. It was fun and the work was good, but still way below the standards of the usual Young Bucks multi-man tag match.

– At intermission, this whole show feels flat and like it’s missing something.

– Local wrestler Serpentico arrives or a match, but Bully Ray attacks and powerbombs him. Bully now talks shit to the ring announcer and he cuts his usual promo. Cheeseburger arrives and tries to stand up to Bully again. Burger calls him an asshole, and fights him off. Bully cuts off the shotei with a low blow, and leaves. Enthralling.

The Dawgs (Titus & Ferrara) vs. Coast 2 Coast (LSG & Ali) vs. Frankie Kazarian & Christopher Daniels vs. Silas Young & Beer City Bruiser: Ali and Daniels to begin. Daniels takes control right away, and lays in jabs. Ali hits an arm drag, and follows with a dropkick. Kaz tags in and walks into arm drags. Kaz rakes the eyes and Young tags in. They push and shove, and Young follows with rights. Kaz counters into a cradle for 2. They trade pin attempts, and work into a double down. Titus tags in as does Ferrara. They argue, and Bruiser tags in and takes control. LSG tags in and he works jabs on Bruiser. The springboard high cross follows, but Daniels in and breaks it up. We get arguing and brawling. It completely breaks down, as Daniels and Kaz fly to the floor and Kaz accidentally takes out Daniels. Bruiser hits an apron cannonball; Bruiser uses Ferrara as a weapon. Ali hits a dive and LSG gets tripped up by Bruiser. Bruiser and Young work over LSG with double teams, and now the Dawgs work double teams on LSG, covering for 2. LSG starts to fight back, but Kaz tags in and cuts him off. Daniels in and more double teams on LSG follow. Daniels goes for a cover and Young breaks it up. Bruiser tags in and hits a DDT, but Kaz makes the save. It breaks down again; LSG fights back, and finally tags in Ali. Ali runs wild, working over anyone that moves. He slams Titus into Ferrara, and LSG back in for double teams. Daniels and Young cut them off, and we get floor brawling. LSG now hits a huge dive to he floor. The Dawgs double team Ali, but LSG makes the save. They isolate Ferrara and hit coast to coast dropkicks on him. That’s good enough for the win. Coast 2 Coast defeated The Dawgs (Titus & Ferrara), Frankie Kazarian & Christopher Daniels, and Silas Young & Beer City Bruiser @ 15:10 via pin [**] This had its moments, but it was largely sloppy and disjointed. The right team won, and it was ok at best.

Cody vs. Punishment Martinez: Burnard the Business Bear is out with Cody. Martinez attacks at the bell and works over Cody on the floor, slamming him to the barricades. He takes out the bear as well. Back in and Martinez hits the top rope spin kick for 2. The head kick follows and Cody falls to the floor. Martinez rolls him back in and Cody hits him low and starts attacking the knee of Martinez. Cody dropkicks the knee, and follows with a dropkick. Martinez hits a big boot, but Cody cuts of springboard attack and locks on the American death lock. Martinez makes the ropes. Cody exposes the buckle, and heads up top. Martinez cuts him off and does the deal, hitting a falcon arrow. Cody counters the psycho driver and Martinez counters the vertebreaker. Martinez sends Cody to the exposed buckle and hits the psycho driver for a good near fall. Cody counters the chokeslam, and hits cross Rhodes. That’s that. Cody defeated Punishment Martinez @ 7:05 via pin [**½] The work was perfectly solid, but it lacked intensity and crowd investment, like most of this show.

Non-Title Proving Ground Match: Champion Dalton Castle vs. Flip Gordon: If Flip lasts 30-minutes or wins, he earns a title shot. Castle still has his hand wrapped, selling Scurll “breaking” his fingers. They shake hands and we’re friends to begin. Castle poses right away, confusing Flip. They go face-to-face, Castle looks to attack, and Flip flips around and kips up repeatedly, avoiding Castle‘s attacks. Flip dumps Castle and teases a dive. Castle back in and Castle looks to slow the pace, and hits a shoulder tackle. He then dumps Flip. Back in and Flip does a walking handstand, and Castle bails. They have amazingly done nothing in 5-minutes. Castle brings in the boys for some stalling. They do tricks while Castle claps for them. This would be something if the crowd was eating it up, but they aren’t. Flip has had enough and roll sup Castle for 2. He follows with kicks and a standing moonsault for 2. Castle now starts slamming Flip around, and then lays the boots to him in the corner. Castle follows with an overhead toss for 2. The Alabama slam follows for 2 by Castle. Castle grounds things, but Flip fires back with elbow strikes. Castle cuts him off and tosses him across the ring. Flip again fights to his feet, lays in rights, and then hits an enziguri. The missile dropkick follows. Flip goes John Wooooo and then hits a spear for 2. Flip sends Castle to the floor with kinder surprise. He follows with a dive onto the Boys as Castle escaped. Castle gets pissed and Flip avoids the charge and posts him. Flip hits a suicide dive, and heads up top. Castle avoids the 450, but Flip hits a Samoan pop and running shooting star pres for 2. Castle rolls away from Flip, Flip avoids bangarang, but eats a Saito suplex. Bangarang finishes it. Champion Dalton Castle vs. Flip Gordon @ 15:45 via pin [**½] This was fine, they tried, but there was absolutely no drama in regards to Flip possibly winning, and the crowd was never really into it. Like most things on this show, it existed.

– In Chicago at the TV taping, Austin Aries will get an ROH TV Title shot.

ROH Tag Team Champions The Briscoes vs. The Motor City Machineguns: Sabin says they are fighting for a new beginning tonight. Sabin says if they lose tonight, it maybe the end of the Guns. Shelley agrees, and hates to see the titles with Bully Ray’s bitches. They brawl right away, and the Guns clear the ring. Mark and Shelley officially start, Shelley dumps him and Sabin hits an apron PK. Shelley now works over Jay and Sabin hits a suicide dive on to the champions. Back in and the Guns work double teams, but the champions cut them off and they take the fight to the floor. Mark isolates Shelley back in the ring, tags in Jay and chokes out Shelley with his shirt. More double teams in Shelley follow, and Jay again grounds the action and chokes him out. The champions continue with quick tags, working the most house show heat ever. Shelley finally starts to fight back, Mark accidentally takes out Jay and Sabin gets the tag to almost no reaction. He runs wild, hits a dive and suplexes Mark on the floor. Shelley takes out Jay, and the Guns are finally putting offense together. Jay & Sabin fight onto the stage, and now back to the ring. Sabin works over Mark in the ring, it breaks down and the champions take control back, hitting a crucifix cutter for 2. The Guns cut off Jay, and hit the dream sequence on Mark. Mark cuts off skull and bones, and the doomsday is cut off. The champions cut off made in Detroit, it continues to be all four in and the Jay driller finishes Sabin. Champions The Briscoes defeated The Motor City Machineguns @ 13:00 via pin [**½] This was another match that generally was fine, The layout was solid, the work was fine, but again, there was no drama in regards to a title change and another disconnect with the crowd really took away from this.

“Byyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyye Felicia!”

5.0

The final score: review Not So Good

The 411

ROH Bound by Honor Night One was a flat show, with mostly average wrestling, no drama, and a complete disconnect with the live audience. I know that some will say that “they’re just airing house shows,” and while that is true, that doesn’t make a bland and lifeless show acceptable. For the most part, it felt as if everyone was working at half speed, there was no sense of urgency, and the crowd felt it as they didn’t care and that made this show feel about 7 hours long. Take a big pass on this one.