Csonka’s ROH Honor United: Edinburgh 2018 Review

Csonka’s ROH Honor United: Edinburgh 2018 Review

OFFICIAL RESULTS
– Shane Taylor defeated Scorpion Sky @ 7:10 via pin [**½]
– Non-Title Match: IWGP Tag Team Champions EVIL & SANADA defeated The Addiction @ 10:30 via pin [**¾]
– Kelly Klein & Chardonnay defeated Tenille Dashwood & Sumie Sakai @ 9:45 via pin [**]
– Punishment Martinez defeated Kenny King @ 11:35 via pin [***¼]
– The Young Bucks defeated Nick Aldis & Mark Haskins @ 17:05 via pin [***½]
– The Boys defeated Yano & Delirious @ 12:25 via pin [*]
– ROH TV Title Match: TV Champion Silas Young defeated Joe Hendry @ 14:10 via pin [***]
– ROH Six-Man Title Match: Champions The Kingdom defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi, Jay Lethal, & Dalton Castle @ 18:50 via pin [**]
– ROH Tag Team Title Match: Champions The Briscoes defeated Cody & Adam Page @ 19:17 via pin [***¼]

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– My preview for the show is at this link.

– Ian Riccabonni & BJ Whitmer are on commentary.

Shane Taylor vs. Scorpion Sky: Daniels and Kaz are out with Sky. Daniels has an envelope with him and tries to buy Taylor off. SoCal doesn’t want to perform here and runs down the town. Taylor checks on the cash and likes what he sees. But he refuses to forfeit the match and doesn’t take the money. They lock up and Taylor quickly overpowers Sky. Sky fires back with a dropkick, and follows with strikes. This angers Taylor who drops him with a right. He then tosses Sky across the ring a few times and then follows with a running kick. They work to the floor, Sky tries to run but Taylor cuts him off with a knee strike and apron leg drop. Back in and Sky avoids the cannonball and hits a running knee strike. The tope follows. Sky rolls him back in and covers for 1. He ground things, lays in rights and chokes out Taylor in the corner. Sky lays in more rights, but Taylor fires back. They trade chops, Sky hits a kick but Taylor head butts him and hits the uranage. The lariat follows and the splash connects for 2. Sky battles back with a double stomp and knee strike, which gets 2. Taylor cuts off the kick and hits a knee strike. He heads to the ropes and Daniels arrives to distract him. Taylor tosses Sky into him and the Samoan driver finishes it. Shane Taylor defeated Scorpion Sky @ 7:10 via pin [**½] This was a perfectly solid match, with a largely disinterested crowd.

– Daniels & Kaz run down the crowd post match. This leads to our next match.

IWGP Tag Team Champions EVIL & SANADA vs. The Addiction (Daniels & Kaz): EVIL & Kaz begin. The crowd are into LIJ to begin. The Addiction double team EVIL right away, but he quickly fights them off and tags in SANADA. They work double teams and pick up a near fall. Daniels in and cuts him off, but SANADA bites him and Daniels bites him back. They’ve gone Iizuka here. SANADA cuts off Daniels and tags in EVIL, and he bites Daniels. The Addiction cuts off EVIL and Daniels hits a springboard moonsault. Double teams follow from the Addiction, and Kaz follows with mounted strikes. The leg drop follows and Kaz covers for 2. More double teams follow as they continue to work over EVIL. Daniels locks on the koji clutch, and more double teams follow. EVIL makes the comeback but Daniels cuts off the tag to SANADA. EVIL runs them together, hits the superkick to Kaz and tags n SANADA. He runs wild with dropkicks, but Daniels cuts him off and tries to apply the paradise lock, but gets confused and fails. SANADA then works the tumbleweed cradle, which gets 2. Daniels is dizzy, and is down. Gets the paradise lock, and follows with the dropkick to the ass for 2. It breaks down, the Addiction work double teams and pick up a near fall. They call for celebrity rehab, SANADA escapes and tags in EVIL. They dump Kaz, and then work over Daniels. The magic killer finishes gets 2 as Kaz makes the save. SANADA takes him out, and EVIL hits everything is evil for the win. IWGP Tag Team Champions EVIL & SANADA defeated The Addiction @ 10:30 via pin [**¾] This was a pretty good tag match, with a solidly invested crowd.

Kelly Klein & Chardonnay vs. Tenille Dashwood & Sumie Sakai: Sakai and Chardonnay begin. They face off on Sunday with Sakai’s title on the line. Sakai grounds the action, but Chardonnay counters into a bow and arrow. Sakai cuts her off with a fisherman’s neck breaker for 2. Kelly tags in and she wants Dashwood, they face off on Saturday. Dashwood in and lays in forearm strikes. The Russian leg sweep follows for 2. Kelly cuts her off with rights but Dashwood hits a knee strike and neck breaker in the ropes for 2. Sakai back in and they work double teams and Sakai then lays the boots to her. Chardonnay cuts off Sakai, and that allows Kelly to cut Sakai off with a clothesline for 2. Chardonnay tags in and Sakai cuts her off with Mongolian chops. Chardonnay hits a dragon screw, and hits the butterfly suplex for 2. Kelly back in, and she works over Sakai in the corner. She then follows with knee strikes and covers for 2. Chardonnay tags back in and she continues the heat as they work quick tags. Kelly then covers for 2. Kelly takes Sakai up top and follows her up; Sakai sends her to the mat and hits a missile dropkick. Tag to Dashwood, she works over Kelly and locks on the tarantula. She cuts off Chardonnay, and then hits the corner splash on Kelly as Sakai cuts off Chardonnay. Sakai hits smash mouth and Dashwood follows with spotlight for 2 as Chardonnay makes the save. She takes out Dashwood and then Sakai. Chardonnay kills Dashwood with a flying knee. Kelly then covers for 2. Sakai takes Chardonnay to the floor and follows with a top rope high cross. The belt was slid in, it causes a distraction, and Kelly rolls up Dashwood for the win. Kelly Klein & Chardonnay defeated Tenille Dashwood & Sumie Sakai @ 9:45 via pin [**] This was ok, it had a few fun moments, but was a lot of wrestling underwater and did nothing to make me excited for the upcoming singles matches.

Kenny King vs. Punishment Martinez: The crowd is into King early on. They finally lock up and Martinez looks to overpower King, but King uses his speed to counter out. The dropkick follows, and he dumps Martinez to the floor. Martinez catches the plancha, but King counters out and hits an apron cannonball. That was smooth. No smooth enough as Martinez cuts him off and hurls him into a barricade. He does it again, and looks rather angry now. Martinez rolls King back in and Martinez follows with corner attacks. Martinez follows with a spin kick, covering for 2. King now fires back with strikes, and gets a sunset flip for 2. Martinez quickly cuts him off with a stomp and then grounds the action. Martinez looks to pick up the pace but misses the springboard senton. That allows King to fire up with strikes and kicks. They work into a series of counters and King dumps Martinez and follows with the tornillo. Back in and King hits a high cross for 2. Martinez counters the chin checker, but King gets it on the second try and covers for 2. King then looks for the last chancery, Martinez fights it off and drags King to the floor and does the deal with an apron falcon arrow. The step up dive follows and back in, Martinez looks for psycho driver and hits it. The curb stomp follows and King kicks out at 2. King counters the chokeslam and they trade strikes. The XPLODER follows by King, he heads up top and Martinez counters the blockbuster, slamming King down and covering for 2 after he oddly rolled to the floor first. King counters the chokeslam into a roll up for 2; Martinez follows with a head kick and chokeslam for the win. Punishment Martinez defeated Kenny King @ 11:35 via pin [***¼] This was a good back and forth match, which largely played to the strengths of both guys, and was fun. The crowd is rough though, as they started hot but quickly fell out of love/lost interest in it.

Nick Aldis & Mark Haskins vs. The Young Bucks: The Bucks get the biggest reaction of the night so far. Matt and Aldis begin. They work into some back and forth, Matt teases a superkick, and Aldis tags out to Haskins. Nick tags in as well, they work into a fun counter sequence, Nick goes lucha with the run up arm drag, and tags in Matt. They work through a series of double teams on Haskins and then take Aldis and Haskins to the floor and follow with planchas. This is the most alive the crowd has been all night. Haskins bails and Aldis cuts off Matt. Back in and they double-team Matt. Haskins now grounds things, and starts upping his aggression as he starts to work his submission game. Aldis back in and he hits a suplex as Haskins joins in for double teams. Aldis follows with mounted rights. Aldis and Haskins continue to work quick tags, isolating Matt. Matt tries to fire up, but gets cut off by a clothesline. Matt digs deep, fights off both and looks for a tag but Aldis stops that. Nice work by Aldis cutting off the tag. Matt then hits the desperation spear and we get hot tag Nick! He runs wild on the best hot tag in wrestling, hits the knee strike and swanton for 2. Aldis cuts him off, he teases a dive and gets cut off. Haskins back and takes over, working over the Bucks and locking on arm bars. Aldis tags in, Haskins hits the Michinoku driver and Aldis gets the top rope elbow drop for 2. Matt tags in and hits a dropkick, but Aldis rebounds with a lariat. It breaks down; Aldis gets the cloverleaf but eats a superkick. Superkick for Haskins, and Matt & Haskins get sharpshooters, come face to face and brawl. Superkick by Matt and double superkicks to Aldis. They look for the Meltzer driver, but Haskins back in and makes the save. Haskins RANA’s Nick into the air as Aldis had Matt up for the tombstone and we got an unintentional Huracan-meltzer. Aldis the hits a powerbomb and cloverleaf as Haskins hold off Nick. Nick fights back and makes the save and then moonsaults to the floor onto Haskins. The Bucks dump Aldis, Meltzer driver for Haskins and that’s that. The Young Bucks defeated Nick Aldis & Mark Haskins @ 17:05 via pin [***½] While not at the level of the WOTW tour matches the Bucks had, this was still a very good match, with an invested crowd. It was a lot of fun, and they even created some good near falls and made you believe that Haskins & Aldis could win.

The Boys vs. Yano & Delirious: Delirious and a boy to begin, and Delirious chases him around the ring. Back in and more chasing. The other boy is in and Delirious is confused. More chasing and Yano just watches. He then sneaks in and gets the double hair pull down. They go to the floras Yano & Delirious control, working abdominal stretches with the help of fans. Back in and Delirious controls, attacking the arm. The boys battle back, with one hitting a high cross for 2. Delirious cuts him off and Yano is in. He gets cut off and the boys attack, working double teams. Yano dumps then and we get floor brawling. Back in and Yano and Delirious have control. Delirious works elbow strikes, Yano chokes out a boy and he and Delirious work quick tags. A boy bites the foot of Delirious, Yano in and they work double teams. Delirious hits a slam and celebrates. The boys pull the switch and take control. The back springboard elbow follows on Delirious, the boy runs Delirious into Yano and hits sliced bread for 2. Delirious cuts him off, rakes the back and does it again. The 68 special follows. Yano tags in and cuts off a buckle pad. He attacks the boys with it, Yano runs them together and Delirious tags in. He follows with clotheslines and a boy now has a Delirious mask on and confuses Delirious. The boy starts doing Delirious spots, takes out Yano and Delirious cuts him off. But the boys hit a lung blower/code breaker combo for the win. The Boys defeated Yano & Delirious @ 12:25 via pin [*] This had its moments, and the right team won, but it went about twice as long as it needed to.

– Bully Ray arrives and lays out the Boys with powerbombs, so much for giving them momentum.

ROH TV Title Match: TV Champion Silas Young vs. Joe Hendry: The crowd is into Hendry big time early on. They lock up, Hendry works into some slick counters, and grounds Young. Young finally counters out, but Hendry quickly grounds things again. Young escapes and looks frustrated. They work some back and forth, Hendry takes Young to the floor, but Young stuns him off the ropes. He follows with the lariat and Hendry is sent to the floor. Young follows and slams Hendry to the barricade. Back in and Young hits a slingshot double stomp and covers for 2. Young now works him over in the corner, and hits a face buster for 2. Young grounds the action, and then hits a standing double stomp for 2. Young now works a hanging guillotine and pulls Hendry to the mat. Hendry fights and powers out into a suplex. Hendry now fires up with clothesline and elbows; the neck breaker follows, and a cradle gets 2. Hendry plants Young with a DDT for 2. Young fires back and hits the draping neck breaker for 2. Young hits the Finlay roll but Hendry cuts him off and gets the ankle lock and then the fall away slam for 2. They brawl to the floor for a bit, back in and Young low blows Hendry and rolls him up for 2. Hendry gets a roll up for 2, but Young hits the Finlay roll and plunge for 2. Young talks shit, and Hendry fires up with uppercuts. They trade center ring, Hendry takes control for a bit, but Young cuts him off and lays in more strikes. Hendry now rolls into the ankle lock and has Young trapped, pulling him back center, and Young pulls the hair to escape. Eye poke, nee strike and misery finishes it for Young. TV Champion Silas Young defeated Joe Hendry @ 14:10 via pin [***] This was an overall good match, as they played into the crowd dynamic well, and even gave Hendry some close and believable near falls/submission. It was a bit flat at points, and was just missing something to make it more than good.

Champions The Kingdom (Taven, Vinny, & O’Ryan) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Jay Lethal, & Dalton Castle: This was changed at the last minute to a title match. Castle is out with his hand and left thigh all taped up. Jay and Taven begin. Nope, Taven quickly tags out to O’Ryan. Nope, O’Ryan tags out to Vinny. Lovely stalling. Jay attacks and hits the hip toss into a dropkick. O’Ryan back in and he wants Tanahashi. Tanahashi in and takes control. They then do hair pulls, and Tanahashi hits a shoulder tackle, slam and O’Ryan bails before the senton. Taven in and he wants Castle, who tags in. They talk trash and continue to do nothing here. Castle then gives Taven a double purple nurple, and then work into a series of missed clotheslines and Castle poses. It breaks down as Taven shoves castle into Jay and the faces all pose. There is a staggering amount of nothing happening in this match. Jay tags in and hits a double ax handle on Taven for 2. Castle then works over Taven, Jay tags in and lays in chops. Jay lay in strikes in the corner, follows with a backdrop and covers for 2. The Kingdom pulls jay to he floor, and that allows Taven to attack and the Kingdom takes control and isolates Jay. O’Ryan tags in and double teams follow. Vinny in and works knee strikes on Jay. Jay slowly fires up with chops, but gets cut off. Vinny then pops a balloon in Jay’s face and lays in strikes. To the floor and Jay hits a desperation cutter on O’Ryan. Tag to Tanahashi, he runs wild on Vinny, hitting a high cross and then a plancha onto he rest of the Kingdom. Sling blade follows for 2 as O’Ryan makes the save. They cut off Tanahashi with a flapjack for 2 a Jay makes the save. Tanahashi tags in Jay. Hits the lethal combo and heads up top. The elbow drop follows for 2. Jay locks on the figure four, Tanahashi takes out O’Ryan, but Taven takes out Tanahashi. Taven hits Jay with a frog splash, and Caste is in. It breaks down, and we get a ref bump. EVIL arrives and takes out Castle. The champions brawl with Tanahashi & Jay, Jay takes Taven to the floor and hits a suicide dive. Vinny & O’Ryan work over Tanahashi and Jay tosses O’Ryan. The cutter by Jay on Vinny and the lethal injection is cut off by a cane shot by Taven. Rock star supernova finishes Jay. Champions The Kingdom defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi, Jay Lethal, & Dalton Castle @ 18:50 via pin [**] This was a total house show match, they did nothing and didn’t even play the hits all that well. Castle was extremely limited, which doesn’t make me anticipate his match with EVIL at all. Add in a ref bump and run in, and this was a HUGE disappointment. It also felt about an hour long, which is never good.

ROH Tag Team Title Match: Champions The Briscoes vs. Cody & Adam Page: Brandi is out with Cody, wearing a bedazzled sling; no Burnard the Business Bear. I blame customs. Cody and Mark to begin, they lock up and work to the corner. Cody lays in chops, and now Jay tags in. Cody tags out to Page as Jay wants to renew their rivalry. They trade strikes center ring. Page hits a lariat and Mark tags back in. they all brawl, Cody and Page then follow with suicide dives, taking control over the champions. Cody slams Mark on the apron, but back in and the champions cut off Page. They isolate him in their corner an lay the boots to him. Page manages to hit a lariat on Jay and tags in Cody. Cody runs wild on Mark, takes out Jay and snap slams Mark for 2. Cody teases a dive, but Jay cuts him off and works him over on the floor. Mark then hits the Cactus Jack elbow from the apron. The champions maintain control and back in, Mark chokes out Cody with a chain. Mark lays in chops and strikes, Jay tags in and rakes the eyes of Cody. The dropkick follows for 2, and Mark now tags back in. The suplex follows for 2. Jay back in as the champions maintain the heat on Cody. More double teams follow, Cody fights off Mark and dumps him to the floor and follow with cross Rhodes on Jay, but can’t cover. Cody manages the tag to Page, he works over Mark with strikes and then hits the dropsault for 2. Page takes the champions to he floor, heads up top and the moonsault connects. Mark cuts of the buckshot lariat, but Page rolls into he rite of passage attempt, but Mark counters. Page hits the powerbomb for 2 as Jay makes the save. Cody flies in with a missile dropkick, but then gets pulled to the floor and into the barricade. The champions cut of Page and hit a toss up cutter for 2. Jay follows with a neck breaker, again covering for 2. Jay looks for Jay driller, Page fights him off, but Jay low blows him and Cody makes the save. Cody lays in jabs on Jay, Brandi mists Jay with hairspray and Page hits a buckshot lariat for 2. Cody dumps mark, and he and Page look for a doomsday device, but the champions cut that off and Mark hits a blockbuster on Cody to the floor. Jay and Page brawl center ring, Page counters the Jay driller, but Jay counters rite of passage. Jay follows with a lariat but Page battles back and hits jig’n tonic for a good near fall. Page up top, gets cut of and the champions go doomsday but Cody cuts it off. Low blow by Jay and the Jay driller finishes Page. Champions The Briscoes defeated Cody & Adam Page @ 19:17 via pin [***¼] This was a good main event, with everyone working hard. Ina vacuum it’s fine, but the big issue here is that, as feared, there was absolutely no drama in regards to a title change. That led to a lack of crowd investment, and a disconnect. They liked the match, but it’s hard to claim that they cared about it. We needed that drama and investment to take this to he next level.

– End Scene.

– Thanks for reading.

“Byyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyye Felicia!”

6.0

The final score: review Average

The 411

ROH Honor United: Edinburgh 2018 was a solidly average, but disappointing event. There was some good wrestling, but nothing approaching great. It felt like a live house show, not the company’s big return to the UK with the stars of NJPW along for the ride. It was far from bad but was very lacking.