Csonka’s ROH War of the Worlds Buffalo Preview

WELCOME back to column time with Larry! Today, I am going to discuss and preview the ROH War of the Worlds Buffalo event. This is the first stop on the annual ROH/NJPW joint War of the Worlds tour, which will be headlined by ROH Tag Team Champions The Guerrillas of Destiny vs. Jay Lethal & Jonathan Gresham So today, I will break down and preview the show; 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.”

PJ Black vs. Alex Coughlin: We start off with PJ Black vs. LA Dojo young lion Alex Coughlin. I like the idea here, as it will likely kick off the show and fits into the NJPW vibe of a young lion match kicking off the card. PJ Black has had a rough go in ROH, coming in over confident, suffering losses, and then seeing the light and turning over a new leaf and showing respect for the roster. This looks to be the perfect chance to get him a win on an ROH special, and while Coughlin isn’t a big win in terms of name value; he needs to start winning somewhere. These shows will be a big chance to gain experience for the LA Dojo guys.
WINNER: PJ Black

Shane Taylor vs. Hikuleo: This is a certified hoss fight, with Taylor taking on Bullet Club’s young lion and son of Haku, Hikuleo. Taylor is having a strong 2019 in the ring, but hasn’t picked up a lot of wins. Hikuleo is slowly coming along, but is still in that puppy stage, where his paws are too big and he’s trying to find himself in the ring. He’s getting better, and this is a big opportunity for him here. Taylor should pick up the win here as he’s the established talent, but I am more interested to see how Hikuleo comes off. WINNER: Shane Taylor

Mark Haskins & Tracy Williams vs. EVIL & SANADA: This looks like a potentially great match on paper as LIJ battles Lifeblood. Haskins & Williams have been really good in ROH, and EVIL & SANADA are great. It all depends on what EVIL & SANADA we get as they often don’t go full out on these shows, Hopefully, the fresh match up interests them and motivates them, because if the LIJ boys are motivated, this could be great. I am really looking forward to this one, and see EVIL & SANADA winning here. WINNER: EVIL & SANADA

TK O’Ryan and Vinny Marsgelia vs. Clark Connors and Karl Fredericks: Back to young lions action as the LA Dojo guys face off with the Kingdom. Again, it’s a big opportunity for the LA Dojo guys to impress. The Kingdom guys can be really hit or miss with me, there are times they come off as a well-oiled and quality team, and they there are times where they just exist. The Kingdom should pick up the win here. WINNER: TK O’Ryan and Vinny Marsgelia

Bandido vs. Flip Gordon: This looks to be a tremendously fun and potentially great match on paper. Bandido has been great in ROH and Flip is a ton of fun. This should be a fast paced and exciting match, but one that’s hard to call. They’ve booked Bandido well so far, but Flip hasn’t picked up many wins since his return from injury. I do really like that this match feels so hard to call in terms of picking the winner, and that makes me look forward to the match even more. While either man could win here, I think that Flip finally picks up a signature win in what could be a great match. WINNER: Flip Gordon

Rush vs. Silas Young: Judging by the booking, it feels that Rush is being heated up for a potential world title shot vs. Taven, which would play well on their history in CMLL. He’ll have a big test here against Silas Young. Young doesn’t have a great win/loss record in 2019, but is always game and usually delivers. He’s been critical of his use this year, but I think that he’ll be extra motivated here against Rush. While I think that Young will give Rush a good challenge, I just can’t see him winning as it would undo all the positive work they’ve done with Rush. WINNER: Rush

Champions Villain Enterprises vs. Jeff Cobb, Yuji Nagata, & Satoshi Kojima: We move onto the first of two title matches on the show as Champions Villain Enterprises face off with a really fun looking team in Jeff Cobb, Yuji Nagata, & Satoshi Kojima. King & PCO have had a hell of an ROH run so far, winning the tag titles, tag wars, the trios tiles and most recently adding the NWA Tag Team Titles and Crockett Cup too thier list of accomplishments. While I can’t see s title change happening here at all, I do think that the trio of Jeff Cobb, Yuji Nagata, & Satoshi Kojima could make for a hell of a match. Cobb has been excellent this year and the dads can still go and are always crowd pleasers. This looks like it will be a lot of fun with the champions retaining. WINNER: Champions Villain Enterprises

Champions The Guerrillas of Destiny vs. Jay Lethal & Jonathan Gresham: Our main event is the ROH Tag Team Champions The Guerrillas of Destiny (who won the titles at G1 Supercard) defending against Jay Lethal & Jonathan Gresham, who recently earned the title shot. I said months back that if and when Lethal lost the ROH title, that getting him out of the world title picture for a while and teaming him with Gresham regularly would not only ad to the tag division and also refresh Lethal for when they can heat him up later on for a title shot. GOD are a solid team, but really need great workers for them to have any chance to thrive. Lethal & Gresham are those guys. While GOD have a match with The Briscoes for the titles (if still champions) scheduled, I think that going back to he Briscoes would be happening way too soon. I would have Lethal & Gresham win the tiles here, and go on a nice run with fresh matches. It would also serve as a big boost for Gresham’s profile & standing in the company. WINNER: Jay Lethal & Jonathan Gresham

– End Scene.

– Thanks for reading.

The 411 on Wrestling Podcast returns to the 411 Podcasting Network for episode 17. On the show, the good brother, Jeremy Lambert, joins 411’s Larry Csonka. Today, the guys will looks back on the two Wrestling Dontaku events, the return of Chris Jericho to NJPW and how Dominion is shaping up. From there, full previews of the ROH War of the Worlds events in Buffalo, Toronto, and Grand Rapids. The show is approximately 88–minutes long.

* Intro
* NJPW Wrestling Dontaku Night One Review: 2:30
* NJPW Wrestling Dontaku Night Two Review & Jericho Return Discussion: 26:50
* ROH War of the Worlds Buffalo Preview: 59:50
* ROH War of the Worlds Toronto Preview: 108:40
* ROH War of the Worlds Grand Rapids Preview: 117:40

You can subscribe and listen to the 411 on Wrestling Podcast via the
above player on Transistor, or on the following platforms:

* iTunes
* Spotify
* Stitcher
* Google Play