wrestling / TV Reports

Csonka’s ROH Honor Rising Review 2.23.18

February 23, 2018 | Posted by Larry Csonka
ROH Honor Rising Night One
7.3
The 411 Rating
Community Grade
12345678910
Your Grade
Loading...
Csonka’s ROH Honor Rising Review 2.23.18  

Csonka’s ROH Honor Rising Review 2.23.18

OFFICIAL RESULTS
– Bad Luck Fale & Yujiro Takahashi defeated Toa Henare & Katsuya Kitamura @ 7:20 via pin [**¼]
– Jushin Thunder Liger, Delirious, & Cheeseburger defeated Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa, & Hikuleo @ 7:19 via pin [**]
– The Young Bucks defeated Juice Robinson & David Finlay @ 13:04 via pin [***¼]
– Flip Gordon defeated Hiromu Takahashi & KUSHIDA @ 12:55 via pin [***½]
– CHAOS defeated Dalton Castle, Jay Lethal, & Ryusuke Taguchi @ 9:40 via pin [***]
NEVER Openweight Title Match: Champion Hirooki Goto defeated Beer City Bruiser @ 13:40 via pin [***]
– Cody, Marty Scurll, & Hangman Page defeated Kenny Omega, Kota Ibushi, & Chase Owens @ 20:31 via pin [****]


– Follow all of my reviews at this link.

– My Honor Rising preview is at this link.

Toa Henare & Katsuya Kitamura vs. Bad Luck Fale & Yujiro Takahashi: Henare has real music now to go along with his gear, officially breaking out of young lion status. Yujiro and Kitamura start us off. Kitamura overpowers Yujiro to begin and now wants Fale. Fale in and they collide like a pair of rams. Fale cuts him off and then knocks Henare to the floor so that Yujiro can work him over. Fale takes Kitamura to the floor and continues to work him over. Back in and Yujiro lay in strikes on Kitamura. He then grounds things, covering for 2. Fale back in and sits on Kitamura, and that gets 2. Bullet Club works quick tags, isolating Kitamura. Kitamura fights out of the fisherman’s buster into a suplex and tags in Henare. Henare’s all fired up, and runs wild on Yujiro. The top rope shoulder block follows for 2. Yujiro bites him to cut him off, and follows with a basement dropkick. Fale tags back in and misses a charge. Kitamura back in and they double team Fale, Kitamura hits the spear and covers for 2. Henare hits a spinebuster on Yujiro as Kitamura works over Fale with chops. He looks for a jackhammer, but Fale fights him off and kills him with a lariat for 2. The grenade follows for the win. Bad Luck Fale & Yujiro Takahashi defeated Toa Henare & Katsuya Kitamura @ 7:20 via pin [**¼] This was a solid opener, playing out as expected, and Henare & Kitamura putting in a good effort.

Jushin Thunder Liger, Delirious, & Cheeseburger vs. Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa, & Hikuleo: Liger & Hikuleo start us off. Liger lays in chops, hurts his hand and tags in Burger. Burger lays in strikes and kicks, gets cut off so Liger tags in. Hikuleo cuts him off with a dropkick and takes him to Bullet Club’s corner and Loa tags in as they work over Liger. Loa hits a slam and leg drop, covering for 2. Tonga tags in and continues the assault on Liger. Hikuleo pulls Liger to the floor and beats him down. Back in and Tonga lays in a head butt, Hikuleo back in and chokes out Liger in the ropes. Tonga clears out Burger & Delirious. Liger makes the comeback, hits shoteis and Burger tags in and the high cross is caught and the Guerrillas end up running into each other, Hikuleo accidentally hits them and Burger hits a DDT on him for 2. Tonga cuts Burger off with the Tongan twist. Hikuleo back in but Burger tags out to Delirious. Hikuleo catches him with the flatliner for 2. Delirious bites him, and Liger helps out, Shotei by Burger and Delirious sunset flips Hikuleo for the win. Jushin Thunder Liger, Delirious, & Cheeseburger defeated Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa, & Hikuleo @ 7:19 via pin [**] This was a bit disjointed, but ok. Jushin Thunder Liger, Delirious, & Cheeseburger winning gives them some momentum ahead of their trios title match tomorrow.

The Young Bucks vs. Juice Robinson & David Finlay: Commentary plays up rumors that the Bucks are going to move up to heavyweight. Finlay & Nick start us off. They work a fun back and forth, opening stretch with Nick hitting a dropkick and the Bucks then running wild with double teams. They send Juice to the floor, and isolate Finlay, and work quick tags. Nick grounds the action, but Finlay manages to cut off the slingshot x-factor. Tag to Juice and he’s all fired up and runs wild with clotheslines. The big overhead belly to belly follows on both Bucks. It’s all Juice here, even teasing suplexing Tiger Hatori. Juice then hits cannonballs on both Bucks. Finlay back in and lays in uppercuts on Matt. The delayed suplex follows, and then the senton gets 2. Finlay tags in and grounds Matt, working the previously injured back. Matt slowly fights back, knocks Finlay to the floor and cuts off Juice. Tag to Nick and he runs wild, dude has the best hot tag in wrestling right now, sending Juice & Finlay to the floor and wiping them out with a dive. Back in and the Bucks work stereo sharpshooters. Juice now fights back, hits the full nelson slam and both men are down. Wholesale changes to Finlay & Nick, the Bucks cut off Finlay with double teams but Nick accidentally superkicks Matt and Finlay gets a roll up for 2. Nick cuts him off but Juice is back and takes over. He lays in jabs, and too sweets the Bucks in the eye, and then eats a double superkick. The Bucks double team Finlay, and Nick takes out Juice on the floor. The Meltzer diver finishes Finlay. The Young Bucks defeated Juice Robinson & David Finlay @ 13:04 via pin [***¼] Juice & Finlay continue to put in good efforts, and I hope they get a chance in the tag ranks down the line. I love the tease of the Bucks moving up, they really need to because they have done it all at Junior, and the regular ranks could use the boost. This was a good and fun match, easily the bet think on the show so far.

Hiromu Takahashi vs. KUSHIDA vs. Flip Gordon : They work a tentative start, and then quickly pickup the pace and give Flip some shine to get the crowd into him. Hiromu & KUSHIDA quickly cut him off and send him to the floor and then trade strikes. KUSHIDA hits the cartwheel dropkick combo, and then a back handspring elbow on Flip. KUSHIDA trips him up, hits a basement dropkick and then knocks Takahashi back to the floor. KUSHIDA now starts attacking the arm of Flip, and then attacks the leg, grounding Flip with a figure four variation. Hiromu breaks that up and dumps KUSHIDA, and then he attacks the legs of Flip. It’s all Takahashi now, who is doing nice work on the leg of Flip. Hiromu does a nice job of keeping KUSHIDA on the floor. Flip battles back, hitting a standing moonsault for 2. He follows with a moonsault to the floor onto KUSHIDA, but Hiromu takes him out with a shotgun dropkick. KUSHIDA & Hiromu back in and they work some fun back and forth, KUSHIDA fights off the German, Flip back in and they hit superkicks into a triple down. Flip sends Hiromu to the floor, hits kinder surprise and a RANA off the ropes on KUSHIDA. The suicide dive follows on Hiromu. The Samoan pop and running shooting star press gets 2 on KUSHIDA. Flip heads up top, Hiromu cuts him off, KUSHIDA now joins them by kicking Flip to the floor. The rolling arm bar off the ropes follows on Hiromu but Flip breaks it up with a frog splash. They all trade strikes now, it breaks down and KUSHIDA gets the hover board lock on Flip. Flip fights off back to the future, but Hiromu hits the German on Flip. Hiromu hits the Blu-ray on Flip, but Flip hits the springboard stunner. He and KUSHIDA workup top and knocks KUSHIDA to the floor, and the 450 connects and Flip pins Hiromu. Flip Gordon defeated Hiromu Takahashi & KUSHIDA @ 12:55 via pin [***½] This was a very good match and a HUGE win for Flip, pinning Hiromu here. As I said in my preview, this is a test run for Gordon getting into the BOTSJ (or even a title match against Ospreay in LA at the end of March), he looked good here, the crowd reacted to him well, and I really enjoyed this.

Dalton Castle, Jay Lethal, & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Jay White, Trent, & Chuckie T: No boys for Castle today. Lethal, Castle, & Taguchi enjoy what appear to be some delicious chicken tenders before the match. Trent is all wrapped up, looking like he’s 7 days deep into the G1. he and Castle start off, giving us a preview of tomorrow’s ROH Title match. Fun back and forth, with Trent escaping an early bangarang attempt. Trent & Chuckie T hug it out and & Taguchi tag in. After some back and forth, Taguchi Japan run wild on Chuckie T with Taguchi calling the plays. Chuckie T makes the comeback by dropkicking Taguchi in the ass. White tags in and lays in chops on Taguchi. The snap Saito follows. Chuckie T in and he maintains the heat on Taguchi. Taguchi fights back, hits the ass attack and Lethal gets the hot tag. He dumps Chuckie T, and then hits him with a suicide dive. Lethal hits the lethal combination on White, and heads up top. White looks to counter the elbow so Lethal locks on the figure four. It breaks down a Trent hits a tornado DDT on Castle. Chuckie T cuts off the lethal injection, Taguchi in and hits bum a ye on White for 2. White counters dodon into a cradle, but Taguchi counters into an ankle lock. White counters out, hits blade runner and pins Taguchi. CHAOS defeated Dalton Castle, Jay Lethal, & Ryusuke Taguchi @ 9:40 via pin [***] This was a good and fun tag match, and a bit more light hearted, in a good way that the previous matches. It also served the purpose of giving a preview for tomorrow’s ROH Title match.

NEVER Openweight Title Match: NEVER Openweight Champion Hirooki Goto vs. Beer City Bruiser: They work an early series of shoulder tackles, and Bruiser takes control by knocking Goto to the floor. He follows with the apron cannonball. They brawl on the floor, Bruiser drinks some beer and rolls Goto back in, covering for 2. Bruiser spits beer in Goto’s face and then grounds the action, working a fucking nerve pinch. Goto fires up and hits a big lariat. The spin kick follows, and then the Saito suplex for 2. Bruiser fights off the ushigoroshi, and hits a corner splash. The corner cannonball follows. Bruiser follows with a Vader bomb for 2.Goto battles back with the sleeper, but Bruiser blocks the PK and hits a sitout powerbomb for 2. Bruiser heads up top now, but Goto cuts him off and hits an ushigoroshi for 2. Bruiser counters the GTR into a side slam for 2. Bruiser back up top now, but misses the frog splash. They trade clotheslines and Bruiser turns Goto inside out. Goto hits the head butt and GRT for the win. Champion Hirooki Goto defeated Beer City Bruiser @ 13:40 via pin [***] I was not a fan of the match going in, but it was a surprisingly good match. Goto gave the Bruiser a ton here, sold his ass off, and laid out a smart match that maximized the few things that the Bruiser does well, and the crowd actually got into him. There was no real drama in him winning, but it was better than I thought it would be.

Kenny Omega, Kota Ibushi, & Chase Owens vs. Cody, Marty Scurll, & Hangman Page: Korakuen went nuts for Omega & Ibushi’s entrance. Cody grabbed a Golden Lovers sign from the crowd and spit on it. Ibushi & Page start us off. Ibushi hits the dropkick after picking up the pace and Owens tags in. he and Omega work quick tags, isolating and double teaming Page. I think is not only an honorary Tongan, but now an honorary golden lover. Cody knocks Ibushi to the floor and Page yells at Marty and tags him in. Marty isn’t thrilled about facing Omega. They work to the ground, with Marty in control until Omega escapes. They work some slick chain wrestling and into a standoff. Cody & Page distract Omega, allowing Marty to attack the hands, and Cody demands he do the finger break spot, but Marty doesn’t want to and Ibushi makes the save. Omega, Ibushi, & Owens run wild on Marty but Cody makes the save. They isolate Owens, working triple teams. Marty works the arm and Cody tags in for a bit, but quickly tags out to Page. Marty tags back in, working the arm. He and Owens work up top and the superplex follows. Cody knocks Omega & Ibushi for the floor and Bullet Club teases the rise of he terminator spot. Cody & Page do it, but Marty refuses. They hold Owens and Marty hits an apron superkick. Back in and Cody covers Owens for 2. Cody follows with a suplex, but Owens fights back but Cody cuts him off. Owens hits a desperation back breaker, and tags in Ibushi. He and Omega are in and run wild, clearing the ring. Double golden triangle moonsaults follow! The crowd loves this. Omega & Ibushi hit a powerbomb/German combo on Marty for 2. Cody pulls Ibushi to the floor and it breaks down. Down to Coy vs. Omega now and they brawl. Omega escapes cross Rhodes and hits V trigger. The snapdragon follows. Page in with the buckshot lariat to take out Omega. Cody grabs Omega, kisses him and Ibushi flies in with the dropkick for the save. Marty hits the ghost buster on Ibushi, and gets the chicken wing. Ibushi makes the ropes. Marty counters the standing moonsault and Cody flies in for a doomsday dropkick. Omega makes the save and he and Cody spill to the floor. Page in and Ibushi hits a RANA on Marty and a head kick on Page. Owens back in and hits a clothesline on Page for 2. Page counters out of the package piledriver but Owens hits a rebound lariat. Page then hits right of passage for the win. Cody, Marty Scurll, & Hangman Page defeated Kenny Omega, Kota Ibushi, & Chase Owens @ 20:31 via pin [****] This was great, and a great execution of a match and continuing the storyline. They gave us enough Cody vs. Kenny to keep that going but not to burn it out, especially since there is another tag tomorrow night. Owens taking the loss was what most expected, and also keeps Page’s momentum going for his US Title shot. I also loved the underlying story of Marty not wanting to fight Kenny and being conflicted over the whole situation. Cody was a spectacular dick here, looking to ruin the reunion of the golden lovers. The great story work really added to the match and made it a complete package. This was a great way to close the show.

– Post match, Omega & Cody brawl on the floor. The Bucks arrive to separate everyone.

– Cody closes the show with a promo. He claims to be the face of ROH, and says you are either team Kenny or team Cody. He says the golden lovers comeback ended before it started, and that Ibushi is just Omega’s rat. Bullet Club is fine and Bullet Club is his.

– End Scene.

– Thanks for reading.

 photo fe36ffd0-0da4-4e3b-a2d3-b026b341dd87_zps41ef5d61.jpg
“Byyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyye Felicia!”

7.3
The final score: review Good
The 411
ROH Honor Rising night one was a good show, which delivered good and fun matches, and also set the stage for night two and gave us the continuation of Cody vs. Kenny. It was a good time.
legend