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Csonka’s ROH Death Before Dishonor 2018 Preview
WELCOME back to column time with Larry! Today, I am going to discuss and preview the ROH Death Before Dishonor 2018 event. This is the latest PPV event from ROH, and will feature ROH Champion Jay Lethal vs. Will Ospreay and much more. Today, I will give my predictions, and break down the show match by match. Feel free to make your picks in the comment section. Thanks for reading! It’s wrestling, we love it and will disagree. The only rules are to “have a take, be respectful, and don’t be a dick.” Thanks for reading.
Tables Match: Flip Gordon & Colt Cabana vs. Bully Ray & Silas Young: This is a match that has some potential to be good and fun as the stipulation will allow for a lot of smoke and mirrors. My main issue is the overall booking. The Bully angle has seemingly been going on for an eternity, repeatedly destroying Cheeseburger, Gordon, and the dojo kids. I keep hearing that Burger or Gordon are getting over in this feud, but they have come off as complete job boys and the only one getting over is the announcer who keeps saving them, Colt Cabana. Now don’t get me wrong, I love Colt and know he’s much more than just a talented announcer, but whether they meant to or not, they have made him the focus of this feud. And now that the feud continues to drag on, they introduce Silas Young into the mix, basically playing Bully’s bitch boy. It feels like Delirious has never known how to book Young, he’d get momentum and a big win, and then basically never follow up on it. His TV title win should have been big for him, but it was wasted to give King the title to feud with Aries… and then King lost it back to him and it became a mess. Young then dropped the title to Martinez, which I liked, but since then, he’s just been a dude on the roster, a dude with no direction. Now in theory, the faces could get a win here since this is a match where no one really takes a loss (pin or submission), but if the goal is Flip vs. Bully at Final Battle in the final blow off where Flip finally overcomes the jaded vet to “get the rub,” then the heels should take this, with Cabana going through the table since he’s not the full time performer. WINNERS: Bully Ray & Silas Young
Kenny King vs. Jushin Liger: Following the loss of the TV title and then PPV loss to Austin Aries. Kenny King has been in complete limbo in the world of ROH. He had no clear direction, no real rivals set, and due to that, underwent a change in attitude, taking a heelish turn and cheating to win his matches. King realized that he had options, and that was to stop caring about what others think and to focus on what mattered, winning. At Death Before Dishonor, he gets a chance to face a legend in Jushin Liger, and pick up some momentum with a big win. Liger is a certified legend and is always over in the US and when he appears for ROH. The crowd should be into the match, and I expect King to continue his heelish ways and steal a win from the legend here so that he can boast about it as he moves on to his next feud. WINNER: Kenny King
CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada, Trent Baretta, Tomohiro Ishii, Rocky Romero, and Chucky T) vs. Bullet Club (The Young Bucks, Cody, Marty Scurll, and Hangman Page) : This has the chance to be a ton of fun and a potentially great match. These multi-man matches are the kinds of matches that the Bucks & Page really thrive in and if the NJPW crew is motivated, this has a lot of potential. I say that because many times, the NJPW crew comes in and does “just enough” for the matches to be good, but don’t always put in top effort. The one thing that is for sure is that they will have shot crowd here as Bullet Club is always over big and the ROH fans love seeing the NJPW guys, especially since they haven’t seen Okada in a while. I’m hoping for really good things here, and will go with Bullet Club picking up the fan-pleasing victory on their home turf. WINNERS: Bullet Club
Women of Honor Championship Match: Champion Sumie Sakai vs. Tenille Dashwood: Sumie Sakai becoming the first Women of Honor champion was basically an underwhelming moment and a lifetime achieving award for her years of service. But while an underwhelming choice at the time, she’s actually put together a solid reign with some good outings. Her run has established the championship, but it’s time to move along and onto bigger and better things. The division is slim pickings these days, but the one thing for sure is that Tenille Dashwood is a star. She looks like a star, carries herself like a star, and the fans treat her like a star. It’s time to move the title to her and start rebuilding the division around her and fast. WINNER: Tenille Dashwood
ROH TV Championship Match: Champion Punishment Martinez vs. Chris Sabin: Following the “semi-retirement” of Alex Shelley and the temporary ending of the Machineguns, the elevation of Chris Sabin as a singles star following the BOSJ has been a fun ride. But while Sabin winning would be a good story, it doesn’t feel like the right move at this time. Martinez is a good champion and deserves some more time with the belt, plus the end game feels like Martinez vs. Page at Final Battle to finally blow off that feud and give Page his first real huge singles win and singles title. Unless he’s leaving, Page is one of the future players for ROH, and building to him as a future TV champion makes the most sense. This should be good, as Sabin is on a roll and Martinez traditionally delivers on ROH PPV. WINNER: Champion Punishment
ROH Tag Team Championship Match: Champions The Briscoes vs. The Addiction: Through ROH TV, the ROH UK shows, and All In, they have done a really good job of building to this match. The main hook is of course the tag team titles, but the underlying story is SoCal Uncensored taking a face turn while fighting to win gold ahead of their ROH contracts expiring at Final Battle. The story is that the ROH brass has had enough of Kaz & Daniels and if they have no gold, they have no hold over ROH and will be done at Final Battle. It feels like a title change is very likely, especially if things are done right and it leads to the veterans, The Addiction, possibly putting over a heated up Coast to Coast who will be back in full swing after Ali’s return from injury. But I think if they are building to a big Coast to Coast push and possible title run, they will have the Brisoces retain here so that not only will Coast to Coast beat the most decorated tag champions in ROH history, but beat them after a near 1200 day title run. With the experience of the performers and fact that they have worked together a lot over the years, this has some high-end potential. WINNERS: The Briscoes
ROH Championship Match: Champion Jay Lethal vs. Will Ospreay: This is a real treat, as with the title change to Lethal after Castle’s injury, the world title scene is in a state of flux with no clear contender on the main ROH roster set. So ROH leaned on their relationship with NJPW and brought in Will Ospreay to challenge for the ROH title. Ospreay has history in ROH, is a top-tier performer that always wows the crowd, and provides a fresh match for Lethal and the ROH faithful. Both men historically deliver on ROH PPV, and if they are on, we’re in for something special here. Looking at the card as it stands, this jumps out as the match of the night on paper. Lethal’s run has been solid, and he’s doing the job asked of him, and that is filling the void as a credible champion. Ospreay is here to give us a great match and help make the PPV worth the watch, but unless the company has worked out some sort of deal (he’s not under an ROH contract), the chances of him winning are extremely slim. The goal here is to give us a great match and those one or two believable near falls to make an Ospreay win seem possible before Lethal retains. I’m putting the BANGER alert on this one. WINNER: Champion Jay Lethal
– End Scene.
– Thanks for reading.
“Byyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyye Felicia!”
