wrestling / TV Reports

Csonka’s ROH Honor United: London 2018 Review

May 26, 2018 | Posted by Larry Csonka
ROH Honor United Doncaster
6.3
The 411 Rating
Community Grade
12345678910
Your Grade
Loading...
Csonka’s ROH Honor United: London 2018 Review  

Csonka’s ROH Honor United: London 2018 Review

OFFICIAL RESULTS
– Jay Lethal defeated Mark Briscoe @ 12:55 via pin [***½]
– Yano defeated Shane Taylor @ 7:40 via pin [**]
– Tenille Dashwood defeated Kelly Klein @ 9:40 via pin [**½]
– Jay Briscoe defeated Mark Haskins @ 11:10 via pin [***½]
ROH TV Title Match: Champion Silas Young defeated SANADA, Hiroshi Tanahashi, & Punishment Martinez @ 11:56 via pin [**¾]
– Bully Ray defeated The Boys @ 7:30 via pin [DUD]
– Cody defeated Kenny King @ 11:35 via pin [**½]
ROH Title Match: Champion Dalton Castle defeated EVIL @ 15:30 via pin [*]
ROH Six-Man Title Match: Champions The Kingdom defeated SoCal Uncensored, and Bullet Club @ 22:21 via pin [***¾]


– Follow all of my reviews at this link.

– My preview for the show is at this link.

– My review of night one in Edinburgh is here.

– Ian Riccabonni & BJ Whitmer are on commentary.

Jay Lethal vs. Mark Briscoe: Briscoe attack before the bell hits a blockbuster to the floor and then a dump suplex onto the apron. Briscoe doesn’t stay on him and Jay fires up and makes the comeback with a pair of suicide dives. Back in and Jay works mounted corner strikes, but Briscoe fires back and then chokes him out with his shirt. Jay quickly fires back with the cartwheel dropkick and then lays in chops. The belly to back suplex gets 2. Jay with jabs, and then elbow strikes to take Briscoe down. Briscoe cuts him off with a suplex and Russian leg sweep for 2. Briscoe now hits a brainbuster for 2 again. Jay fights off the sleeper, but Briscoe lights him up with elbows and strikes. They trade chops and Jay hits a bicycle kick and enziguri and Briscoe rolls to the floor. Jay follows him out; Briscoe distracts the ref by throwing a chair in the ring and low blows Jay. Briscoe bites Jay, and then grounds him and thusly humbles Jay with the camel clutch. Jay escapes and they trade big time chops, and then go crazy fists. Jay hits the cutter and then follows with the lethal combination for 2. Jay starts working leg kicks, but as he goes for the figure four, Briscoe gets a rear naked choke; Jay makes the ropes. They work up top and Jay knocks him to the mat and follows with the figure four. Briscoe makes the ropes and rolls to the apron. Jay pulls him back in but Briscoe counters the lethal injection into the rear naked choke. Jay just barely makes the ropes. Briscoe’s knee gives out on the fisherman buster and Jay hits the lethal injection for the win. Jay Lethal defeated Mark Briscoe @ 12:55 via pin [***½] This was a very good, hard-hitting, fun, back and forth match that had the crowd the entire time. It was a smart choice for the opener, as both guys are stars and the crowd reacted like this was important. This was a very good way to kick off the show.

Shane Taylor vs. Yano: Yano looks for a shoulder tackle and fails as Taylor takes him down. Yano rakes the eyes, looks for a slam, but Taylor slams him down. Yano does the rope break spot, so Taylor pulls him to the apron and hits the apron leg drop. He then stands on Yano’s chest, and then rakes at his face. Yano tries to fire back, but Taylor cuts him off with an elbow. The slam follows and Taylor climbs the ropes and misses the splash. Yano cuts off a buckle pad and hits Taylor with it. Taylor is pissed, but Yano slams Taylor to the exposed buckle and rolls him up for 2. Taylor blocks the low blow and hits a knee strike. The head butt and uranage follows; the running splash gets 2. Yano uses the ref as a shield, the low blow and roll up pins Taylor. Yano defeated Shane Taylor @ 7:40 via pin [**] This was ok, the crowd loved Yano and were into it, but Taylor again just can’t gain any real momentum

– Post match Taylor kills security guys to get his heat back.

– Brandi Rhodes is on commentary.

Kelly Klein vs. Tenille Dashwood: They lock up and Kelly slams Dashwood down. Dashwood cuts her off with kicks and Kelly rolls to the apron. She gets in a cheap shot, but Dashwood hits the leg sweep for 2. Dashwood now starts working the arm, and gets a cradle for 2. Kelly hits a sloppy forearm but Dashwood hits the neck breaker in the ropes and follows with the corner splash. Kelly rolls to the floor. Kelly attacks the knee, and rolls her back in, covering for 2. Kelly now works her over in the corner, attacking the knee again. Dashwood fires up with strikes, but Kelly slams her down by the hair. The crowd tries to rally Dashwood, Kelly takes her up top and follows. Dashwood shoves her to the mat and hits the high cross, but can’t follow up due to the knee. They trade strikes, Dashwood lays in clotheslines and avoids the charge; the tarantula follows. The butterfly suplex follows, and Dashwood looks for the spotlight kick but her knee buckles out and Kelly chop blocks her. Kelly looks for a TKO, but Dashwood counters into a sunset flip for the win. Tenille Dashwood defeated Kelly Klein @ 9:40 via pin [**½] This was a solid match with the right winner. It was very obvious that Dashwood was on a completely different level that Klein.

Mark Haskins w/Vickie Haskins vs. Jay Briscoe: Haskins attacks before the bell and runs wild for a bit, but he heads up top and gets cut off with a big lariat as he flies in. Jay follows with a Spicolli driver but Haskins fights back, picks up the pace and takes out the knee. The slingshot dropkick follows, but Jay cuts off the suicide dive. He then beats down Haskins with strikes and kicks. Haskins keeps firing back, but Jay remains a step ahead, constantly cutting him off. Jay now chokes him out in the ropes and lays in big forearms, but Haskins fires the fuck up and he crowd loves it. He lays in big kicks on Jay and follows with running uppercuts. Haskins then counters into a crossface, and then into the eastern stretch. Jay makes the ropes. Haskins peppers him with kicks, follows with a jab, but Jay hits a RANA and mafia kick. Haskins rolls to the floor and Haskins cuts off the dive and hits an apron DVD. Back in and Haskins hits another DVD for a good near fall. The arm bar follows and Jay fights and makes the ropes. Jay now lays in strikes and they trade. They go crazy fists and Haskins hits a bicycle kick, but Jay cuts him off with the neck breaker for 2. Jay now looks for Jay driller, Vickie distracts him and slaps Jay. Haskins kicks him in the face and hits the top rope double stomp. The pump handle driver gets a good near fall. The crowd is really into this now. Enziguri by Haskins, but Jay kills him with a lariat and Jay driller for the win. Jay Briscoe defeated Mark Haskins @ 11:10 via pin [***½] This was very good, with a great sense of urgency and a heavily invested crowd as they were completely into Haskins and him possibly winning. It was also a blast having Briscoes working a singles again.

ROH TV Title Match: TV Champion Silas Young vs. SANADA vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Punishment Martinez: This was hanged to a TV title match after being originally announced as a non-title match. The match is one fall to a finish. They all attack Martinez, but he shoves them all away. Martinez then takes them to he corner and attacks. Tanahashi dumped to the floor, Young attacks Martinez, and SANADA dumps him and Young follows with a clothesline as Tanahashi hits a plancha onto Martinez. They all attack Martinez and look for pins. They all argue and Martinez is then dumped. The rest talk and shake hands, but Tanahashi and SANADA attack Young and Martinez is back. He dumps SANADA and works him over on the floor. Young works over Tanahashi as well. Back in and Martinez hits an elbow drop for 2. Tanahashi is sent to the barricade. Young dumps Martinez and attacks SANADA. Martinez back in as Young begs off and wants to work with him. They work over SANADA, and Young predictably double-crosses Martinez. Martinez overpowers him and lays in rights. SANADA hits a RANA and Tanahashi is back. He runs wild, sling blade connects on Young and then twist and shout on Martinez. Tanahashi up top, but SANADA outs Young & Martinez into the paradise lock. Tanahashi then tries it on SANADA, but gets confused. SANADA ties up Tanahashi in the ropes with the paradise lock. Dropkicks for all follow. Young cuts him off, but SANADA gets skull end. Tanahashi makes the save, but Martinez wipes him out. SANADA takes him out with a missile dropkick, and Young cuts off SANADA with the back breaker/lariat combo. Chokeslam by Martinez on Tanahashi, he kicks Young to the floor and follows with the step up dive. Martinez grabs a chair, Tanahashi cuts him off but SANADA dropkicks them to the floor. Young rolls up SANADA with the ropes for the win. Champion Silas Young defeated SANADA, Hiroshi Tanahashi, & Punishment Martinez @ 11:56 via pin [**¾] This was a pretty good match with some fun moments, but was way too disjointed and chaotic in a bad way to be anything more.

– ROH returns to the UK in August, on the 16th in Edinburgh, 18th in Doncaster, & 19th in London in York Hall for Honor Re-United.

– The Boys arrive for an announced match; they will face Bully Ray.

The Boys vs. Bully Ray: This is a late addition to the match. Bully stalls forever, and bitches about the fans chanting for the boys. Two-minutes in and we get a lockup and chops from Bully. He takes control, laying in strikes and yelling random shit. Bully slowly dominates with Nakanishi-like speed, although at least Nakanishi appears to be trying in his matches. Bully looks like an old, out of shape, and out of touch vet collecting a check. The fact that ROH flew him to the UK while guys like Gresham &Coast to Coast were left off of the tour is truly infuriating. They boys manage to work double teams and make a comeback. Bully quickly cuts them off and pins them for 5 as Whitmer claims that this was awesome, fuck off and bring Cabana back. Bully Ray defeated The Boys @ 7:30 via pin [DUD] I’d love to say that this will lead to Cheeseburger finally vanquishing him, but that implies faith in lizardman.

 photo jascck middle_zpsumhe7jma.gif

Cody vs. Kenny King: Brandi is out with Cody. King wants to up he stakes, and says if he wins, he’s “All In.” Cody agrees, but says King can’t give his spot to Flip Gordon. Cody then changes his mind and says if King wins, he and Flip are all in. They lock up and work some standing switches until Cody makes the ropes. We now get some basic back and forth, and King rolls him up for 2. They work to the corner, Cody counters into an O’Connor roll for 2. The delayed suplex follows and King powders to the floor. He offers Brandi a rose, so Cody wipes him out with a suicide dive, steals the rose, and gives it to Brandi. Back in and Cody hits clotheslines. King cuts him off with a big lariat, covering for 2. King takes the heat and hits a springboard leg drop for 2. He grounds the action, but Cody fires back and hits a dropkick. Cody gets water and mists King, but King whips him to the barricade. Back in and King works a camel clutch. Cody bites his way out, and then avoids the shotgun knees. Coy fires up with strikes and a dragon screw. The snap slam gets 2. King fires back with a spinebuster, the high cross follows, but Cody counters into a roll up for 2. The disaster kick follows from Cody for 2. Cody heads up top and King cuts him off, hits an enziguri and Cody crashes to the floor. Brandi distracts King, and Cody hits cross Rhodes for the win. Cody defeated Kenny King @ 11:35 via pin [**½] This was a perfectly solid wrestling match.

– Cody now cuts a promo, hyping All In. NWA champion Nick Aldis arrives. Aldis says Cody still believes in the American Dream, and adds that he’s the NWA champion, and says he is the American dream and broke the ceiling for British wrestlers all over the world. He’s been restoring the legacy & prestige of the NWA championship, and says that Cody is a worthy challenger. He calls Cody a game changer, and used to admire how he does business; because Cody challenged for his title without asking him. But the NWA title belongs to him, and offers Cody a deal. Cody says Aldis looks the part, and acts the part, but says Aldis is presumptuous. Cody says he wants the NWA title because he wants it for himself. Cody then officially asks if Aldis is All In. Aldis says on one condition, and that is if Cody wins the ROH title, that if Cody is All In, then both titles will be on the line. Cody agrees.

ROH Title Match: ROH Champion Dalton Castle vs. EVIL: Castle is coming into this injured, and due to that and the unlikelihood of a title change, this not being the main event makes sense. The boys are out with Castle. EVIL attacks right away and they brawl. EVIL gets dumped and Castle teases the dive and poses. Castle follows him out for some floor brawling. Back in and Castle covers for 2. Castle grounds things and is using his taped up right hand way too much. EVIL attacks the leg and then slams it off of the post. They work a countout tease on Castle, stalling for time. He rolls back in and EVIL attacks right away, targeting the leg. He then starts to attack the back, and then grounds castle, and is back to working the leg. EVIL now lays in chops, but Castle fires back but EVIL rakes the eyes. EVIL misses the senton, allowing Castle to fire back as he lays in repeated strikes with his taped up right hand. The clothesline and knee strike follows, and castle then tosses EVIL across the ring. EVIL cuts him off with a superkick to the bad leg, and then grounds him with a death lock. EVIL up top, gets cut off and Castle misses a knee strike and EVIL hits an apron lariat. EVIL then attacks him on the floor with a chair, posting the champion. Back in and Castle hits a clothesline for 2. And now we get a ref bump. FUCK YOU LIZARDMAN! EVIL posts Castle, gets the title and fights of the boys. Castle hits bangarang but we have no ref. EVIL now hits the belt shot and covers for 2. Castle then cradles EVIL for the win. Champion Dalton Castle defeated EVIL @ 15:30 via pin [*] I don’ know how much of Castle’s injuries are real, but he was really not good here, and this was a flat match. It was slow and lethargic, and just offered nothing interesting and had no drama. They really would have been better off leaving Castle at home if this is the kind of outings we were going to get. On top of that it was lazily overbooked; this was bad.

ROH Six-Man Title Match: Champions The Kingdom (Taven, Vinny, & O’Ryan) vs. SoCal Uncensored (Daniels, Kaz, & Sky) vs. Bullet Club (Page & The Bucks): Taven & Daniels start off. They open up with some fun back and forth, leading to near falls, and a stand off. Sky and O’Ryan now tag in. O’Ryan hits a dropkick, and Sky battles back with rights. The double stomp follows and Page & Kaz tag in and brawl right away, I really like that these two still hate each other so much following their feud last year. After beating on each other, they do that spitting bullshit and start brawling again. It breaks down with everyone brawling and Nick flies in wipes everyone out. The Bucks then run wild, and double-team Daniels and then Sky. Planchas follow and the Hung Bucks have taken control and isolate Kaz. Kaz hits a lung blower after the Daniels distraction. Sky tags back in and he works over Nick. Quick tags follow as Daniels tags in, and SoCal does the two boots spot. SoCal follows with slingshot attacks, Taven in and he continues the heat on Nick. O’Ryan in with an elbow drop for 2. Matt in and makes the save as Vinny tags in. Nick tries to fight them off, and hits the slingshot x-factor and moonsault to the floor. SoCal cuts off the tag and Daniels hits the STO for 2. He argues with O’Ryan and they brawl and work into a double down. Nick battles back and tags in Page. He runs wild and takes out Daniels and levels Vinny and O’Ryan. The dropsault connects. The powerbomb gets 2 on Daniels, SoCal in and Matt tags in and he gets to run wild, taking out everyone. Sliced bread connects to Daniels and he follows with a tope to wipe out the pile. The Bucks get sharpshooters, but the Kingdom breaks that up. The Bucks hit superkicks, but get pulled to the floor and Taven and page follow with dives. Sky then hit the tope to wipe everyone out. Page then moonsaults onto the pile. The Hung Buck isolate Daniels, and double teams follow for a near fall. Daniels escapes last rights, Vinny tags in and lays in running forearms, and the Kingdom works triple teams. SoCal cuts them off and Kaz hits a tornado DDT. Sky hits the RANA but Taven hits the frog splash to break that up. Nick tags in and runs wild off of the hot tag. It completely breaks down into the big move buffet. The crowd loves this as Nick hits a wild dive to the floor. The indie last rites follows for 2 as Daniels takes out the ref. We get another fucking ref bump and SoCal lays out Page, and the BME follows but no ref. New ref in and pulled out. ANOTHER FUCKING REF BUMP. Fuck off lizardman. The kingdom hits rock star super nova and we get a third ref and it turns outdo be Cody. He takes out the Kingdom and hits cross Rhodes on Vinny. He follows with a step up dive to the floor; the Meltzer driver connects, (the refs argue) and Taven then hits Daniels with his cane for the win. Champions The Kingdom defeated SoCal Uncensored, and Bullet Club @ 22:21 via pin [***¾] This was an overall very good and fun main event that had the makings of a great match if it wasn’t for it breaking down into overbooked garbage down the stretch.

– End Scene.

– Thanks for reading.

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

6.3
The final score: review Average
The 411
Overall the ROH Honor United: London 2018 event was a better outing than night one of the tour, with better wrestling, better effort, and a hotter crowd. Unfortunately, there was some bad as the Bully Ray nonsense continues, EVIL vs. Castle was just bad, and there was too much overbooking on the show for my liking.
legend