Csonka’s ROH War of the Worlds Toronto Preview

WELCOME back to column time with Larry! Today, I am going to discuss and preview the ROH War of the Worlds Toronto event. This is the second stop on the annual ROH/NJPW joint War of the Worlds tour, which will be headlined by ROH Champion Matt Taven vs. PCO. 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.”

Alex Coughlin, Karl Fredricks, & Clark Connors vs. The Sons of Haku: We start off with young lions inaction as LA Dojo lions Alex Coughlin, Karl Fredricks, & Clark Connors unite to battle The Sons of Haku. These ROH dates are really important for these guys, because they aren’t as far along as their Japanese counterparts, due to a lower volume of work and also because they aren’t facing quality opponents regularly. They aren’t winning here, no chance, but these ROH matches will be important for them to gain confidence, and to grow their skill sets. Also, if they do poorly, Shibata will torture them. WINNER: The Sons of Haku

Rush vs. PJ Black: 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. Black should pick up a win on night one, but 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. Black winning here would be complete insanity, which puts Black in a position where he needs to have a quality showing and look competitive before he finally falls to Rush. This should be good, but the Rush train rolls on. WINNER: Rush

Yuji Nagata vs. Silas Young: This should be a good, old fashioned, hard-hitting dad battle as Yuji Nagata faces off with Silas Young. Nagata may be 51, but the man still kicks ass and has shown his still capable of great performances. 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. In terms of a winner, this one feels like a toss up. Nagata is a name and attraction, but far from a NJPW top star as he’s entered into a stage where he helps train the lions and pouts people over. Young really could use the win and it’s not like that’s out of the question here. I’m fine with either man winning, and while I’m pulling for Blue Justice, I think Young picks up the big and much needed win here. WINNER: Silas Young

Jay Lethal vs. Satoshi Kojima: Jay lethal may be coming into this match as one half of the tag team champions if night one goes well for him. Kojima, much like Nagata, is one of the dads that can still go and Lethal rarely disappoints, so this certainly has a chance to be good. I think that due to their positions in their respective companies, that Lethal is the favorite here and will pick up the win. WINNER: Jay Lethal

Brody King vs. Hirooki Goto vs. Shane Taylor vs. Jeff Cobb: This looks like a fun hoss fight, with a good mix of talent. King & Taylor have had good 2019’s for ROH, Cobb has been excellent, and while his win/loss record isn’t great, Goto is a very good and consistent performer. ROH four-ways have been really good in 2019, and while Goto will be a bit out of his element here due to NJPW VERY rarely doing multi-man matches, I am really looking forward to this one. There’s a lot of talent in here, and I do think the potential for this to be great is there. I have a feeling that Goto gets his groove back and picks up the win here. WINNER: Hirooki Goto

Lifeblood vs. The Briscoes: Lifeblood has a big opportunity here as they face the former ROH tag team champions The Briscoes. Haskins & Williams have been really good in ROH, and a win here would be huge for Lifeblood, because they could possibly parlay that into a tag title shot, especially if the Briscoes move on to win the tag titles. But that’s also why I think that there chances of winning are slim to none, especially because the Briscoes have a title match in Chicago (if GOD are still champions). The goal here should be to deliver a high quality match while also making sure the Briscoes have momentum heading into that match, so I see the brothers winning here. WINNER: The Briscoes

The Kingdom vs. EVIL & SANADA: On paper, this match feels like a real mixed bag. 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. EVIL & SANADA are great, but it all depends on what EVIL & SANADA we get as they often don’t go full out on these shows. It all depends on what versions of the teams we get here, this has the potential to be a great tag team match, but also equally has the chance to be “just a match.” I see EVIL & SANADA winning here WINNER: EVIL & SANADA

Champion Matt Taven vs. PCO: At the ROH Masters of the Craft event Villain Enterprises successfully defended their trios titles against former champions the Kingdom. It was seven days after the G1 Supercard event, and to retain the titles, PCO pinned new ROH Champion Matt Taven in what was a surprising moment because Taven just won the title and if anything, most likely would have picked Marty to pin Taven if anyone was going to do so. The good news is that it just wasn’t a random win that wouldn’t be followed up on, it was part of the plan to give Taven his first challenger, and to use PCO, who is over huge, as that challenger in Canada. It’s a smart move to play off of his popularity and to hopefully ensure that the crowd is invested in the match. The PCO rebirth story has been a great one, and in a way, reminiscent of Terry Funk’s late career revival in ECW, although PCO isn’t a legend like Funk. Unfortunately for PCO, I just don’t see him getting his Terry Funk world title moment here as ROH feels all in on Taven as the guy, especially with the feeling that they are building to a major match between he and Rush. While PCO will likely try to kill himself multiple times to try and win here. I expect Taven to retain. WINNER: Matt Taven

– 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

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