Csonka’s ROH Honor United: Edinburgh Preview

WELCOME back to column time with Larry! Today, I am going to discuss and preview tonight’s ROH Honor United: Edinburgh event. This is one of the many ROH events that will be steaming live on the Honor Club service this year, and again, some of the stars of NJPW are along for the ride. 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 “have a take, be respectful, and don’t be a dick.”

The Boys vs. Yano & Delirious: I expect this to involve a lot of the usual shenanigans from Yano & Delirious, while the Boys will pull the twin switch a few times to confuse them. It will be light-hearted and maybe even amusing at times, but likely just an ok match at best. The Boys DESPERATELY need a win here, otherwise, they will remain simply accessories to Dalton Castle. They are a fun little guy team that could really add to the tag ranks, but it’s impossible to take them seriously when all they do is lose and look like a couple of geeks. The lizardman should do the job for his boys here, is he doesn’t and the Boys lose, he’s even more clueless than I thought. WINNERS: The Boys

Nick Aldis & Mark Haskins vs. The Young Bucks: Using Aldis in the UK is a smart idea, and can also serve as a tie-in for All In. I like Haskins and am glad to see him being brought in to work the show. Aldis is a solid enough worker, but far from exciting. Hopefully, the Bucks can bring out the best in him. Haskins is a lot of fun and should work well with the Bucks without a problem. The Bucks were the highlight of the recent WOTW tour, delivering the best matches each night I reviewed and will be looking to steal the show as usual, so this should be good. While I can easily see Aldis’ team winning since we’re in the UK, I think that it makes more sense for the Bucks to win here, due to them having more important matches coming up on the tour. WINNERS: The Young Bucks

Kelly Klein & Chardonnay vs. Tenille Dashwood & Sumie Sakai: This is here to set up Klein & Dashwood’s match on night two in London, and Sakai vs. Chardonnay on night three. Chardonnay was trained by Robbie Brookside, has only worked 80 or so matches, but over 20 of them have been in STARDOM she’s making her ROH debut here. That’s what I know about her, I’ve seen some clips, but haven’t seen a lot of full matches. Dashwood has been completely outshining everyone in the division not names Deonna Purrazzo, and it will likely be more of the same here. The women of honor matches have been really lacking, hopefully they can pick it up here and deliver something good. With Klein & Dashwood facing of the next day, this will be about heating that match up. Kelly Klein & Chardonnay should win with Chardonnay picking up a pin to sell her for the upcoming title match. WINNERS: Kelly Klein & Chardonnay

TV Champion Silas Young vs. Joe Hendry: Edinburgh’s own Joe Hendry gets an opportunity to capture ROH gold in this TV Title match. He’ll have the hometown advantage, which should hopefully lead to this match having some good heat and drama if they work the right kind of match. Young’s second TV title run has been as flat as his first; especially with the shitty way he won the title. He’s really in need of a great match, but I’m not sure that Hendry is the one to give it to him (I’m hot and cold on him as a performer, he’s too inconsistent for my liking). I really hope that I am wrong and that they can work some magic and deliver something special. With Hendry being a guest and there being no reports of him signing with ROH, the odds of a title change appear to be very slim, even if it would create a fun moment and senses of drama on the tour, even if they just change it back later on the tour. But doing the unexpected and giving the fans a reason to care isn’t lizardman’s game. WINNER: TV Champion Silas Young

Hiroshi Tanahashi, Jay Lethal, & Dalton Castle vs. The Kingdom : This should be a good match, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Jay Lethal, & Dalton Castle are all good and the Kingdom work well as a team. The all-stars will have the crowd behind them, and will especially be into Tanahashi, who gets a godlike reaction anywhere he goes. With The Kingdom defending against SoCal Uncensored and Bullet Club on the next show in London and being the unified force and champions, they should beat the all-star team here, maybe even Taven pinning Castle to continue their feud. WINNERS: The Kingdom

Kenny King vs. Punishment Martinez: This is a battle of two guys looking for momentum and a solid direction. King has been just a guy since losing the ROH TV title, filling a spot with solid performances, and not much else. Martinez has been building a feud with Adam Page, but it’s been very limited (but with good heat) due to Page’s injuries. In all honesty, if I’m booking and this is a one-off match, Martinez wins here with no questions. But you have to take the rest of the tour into question, and King is facing Cody on the next show. This should be good, I like both guys, and Martinez steps up when given the chance. But I have Cody beating Kenny King on the next show, so I can see King winning (possibly with the help of Adam Page) to give him momentum, before losing to Cody. WINNER: Kenny King

Shane Taylor vs. Scorpion Sky: Shane Taylor is in an odd place in ROH, they clearly like him and see something in him, and he’s performed well. But they don’t seem to have anything resembling a solid direction for him. Taylor has been working hard and is coming off of a good performance against EVIL, and Sky is a fun worker, who will likely pinball around for him. With Sky being the low man on the totem pole in SoCal Uncensored, and primarily a tag guy these days, this feels like the right time to give Taylor a big win. WINNER: Shane Taylor

EVIL & SANADA vs. The Addiction (Daniels & Kazarian): This has the makings of a very good tag team match, EVIL & SANADA are on a role following EVIL’s orbital bone injury and the Addiction are a very experienced tag team that still delivers regularly. If they can keep the shenanigans to a minimum, and just focus on just having a good match, this should deliver. With EVIL & SANADA being the current, reigning, and defending IWGP Champions and heading into a major title defense June 9th at Dominion, the likelihood of them losing here feels slim to none. WINNERS: EVIL & SANADA

ROH Tag Team Champions The Briscoes vs. Cody & Adam Page: This feels like a completely dead-ended title match, that is just here to get stars on the card. The Briscoes are on a great run, while Cody & Page aren’t a regular tag team, but the Briscoes recently laid them out on TV, which is our “story” here. But that means that without the drama of a possible title change, that this will come down to how good and or interesting of a match they can work and how interested the UK fans are in seeing these guys. They have all of the potential and skill to pull off a good match, but I really think that it will come down to what Cody we get here. If he’s gimmick-heavy, bring the circus to town Cody; I don’t have high hopes. Hopefully, he’s here to have a fun match. I’d be completely shocked if there was a title change here, so the champions should retain. WINNERS: ROH Tag Team Champions The Briscoes

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“Byyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyye Felicia!”