From The Shelf – ROH Global Wars 2015 Night One

ROH Global Wars 2015 Night One
5-15-15
Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Your hosts are Kevin Kelly and Steve Corino.

I hope to catch the rest of the ROH/NJPW series in the coming weeks, but this is a good place to start.

Silas Yong and Watanabe vs. Moose and Gedo w/Veda Scott and Stokley Hathaway
Watanabe and Gedo start. Gedo pokes the eye and he drop toe holds Watanabe. Jabs by Gedo and he knocks Watanabe down. Moose and Young tag in and Young rakes the eyes of Moose. Rake to the back by Young and Moose catches him with a dropkick. Tag to Gedo and Young catches him with a back breaker into a lariat for 2. Tag to Watanabe and he grabs a surfboard. He curb stomps Gedo for 2 as he tried to fight out. Tag to Young and he chokes Gedo in the ropes. Tag to Watanabe and he charges in the corner but misses. Young prevents the tag to Moose and Gedo is able to fight off the double team to tag Moose in. Moose drives himself into both Young and Watanabe in the corner. Springboard crossbody by Moose and he charges in the corner but misses. Young hits the Fireman’s Carry Roll on Gedo but misses the Pee Gee Waja Plunge. Release German suplex by Watanabe to Moose and he hits some lariats with no effect. Moose presses Watanabe into a lariat of his own for 2!!! Moose goes for a Spear but Watanabe blocks with the knee. Tag to Young and Moose catches him with a Spear for 3!!!
Winners- Moose and Gedo **1/4 ( Pedestrian, by the numbers match to start the show. This is my first time watching Moose wrestling and I like him a lot. He has good charisma and showed flashes of potential. He needs work, but there is absolutely something there.)

Video package on KRD airs.

Chris Sabin vs. Kyle O’Reilly vs. KUSHIDA
Bobby Fish couldn’t make it to the show, so O’Reilly is taking out of the four way tag and added to the Sabin/KUSHIDA match. They all trade arm drags and attempt dropkicks before reaching a stalemate. Forearms by O’Reilly to KUSHIDA but Sabin pulls O’Reilly to the floor and rams him into the barricade. Seated senton off the apron by KUSHIDA to Sabin and back in, KUSHIDA hits an inverted atomic drop. Dropkick to the leg into the basement dropkick by KUSHIDA and he delivers the skull fucker to Sabin. He does the same to O’Reilly but Sabin rakes the eyes to end that. Sabin puts KUSHIDA in the tree of woe and hits the Hesitation dropkick. He hits an overhead belly to belly suplex on O’Reilly into KUSHIDA!!! Sabin chokes KUSHIDA in the ropes and O’Reilly throws some strikes at Sabin. O’Reilly grabs a cross arm breaker in the ropes on KUSHIDA but Sabin breaks it up with a super kick. Enzuigiri from the apron by KUSHIDA to both men and he snaps both men’s arms off the ropes. Springboard clothesline to Sabin and KUSHIDA hits a German suplex on O’Reilly while getting the O’Connor roll on O’Reilly for 2!!! Tilt-a-whirl into the Kimura by KUSHIDA but O’Reilly catches KUSHIDA in the Guillotine Choke at the same time. Sabin makes the ropes to break and KUSHIDA and O’Reilly trade kicks. Regal plex by O’Reilly gets 2. Enzuigiri to KUSHIDA while hitting a Tornado DDT on O’Reilly by Sabin. All three men trade blows and Sabin hits an enzuigiri on KUSHIDA. Axe kick into the rolling elbow by O’Reilly to Sabin and he hits a double Jawbreaker Lariat on Sabin and KUSHIDA. Brainbuster to Sabin gets 2 and O’Reilly grabs the cross arm breaker. KUSHIDA breaks with a moonsault off the top!!! Flatliner into the corner by KUSHIDA to O’Reilly and he hits a super kick on Sabin. Sabin blocks Sliced Break and KUSHIDA counters the Cradle Shock into the Hoverboard Lock!!! Sabin taps!!!
Winner- KUSHIDA ***1/2 (This was a really good three way match. I think it’s too soon to give Sabin a lost since he just returned to ROH but at least the contest was exciting and O’Reilly and Sabin not pinning the other gives us an excuse to do a one on one match down the line. )

The Kingdom (Michael Bennett and Matt Taven) w/Maria Kanellis vs. Matt Sydal and Jushin Liger
Taven and Sydal start. Sydal catches Taven with a double stomp and Taven seeks comfort from Bennett in the corner. Tag to Liger and Bennett. Bennett overpowers Liger and Liger backdrops him to the floor to come back. Back in, Sydal and Liger double dropkick the Kingdom to the floor and Sydal hits a knee strike off the apron to Taven. Maria grabs the leg of Liger, allowing Bennett to catch him with a super kick for 2. Bennett stomps away on Liger in the corner and Taven tags in. He works over Liger and tags in Bennett. Snap mare and Bennett grabs the chin lock. Liger fights out and Bennett catches Liger with a dropkick. Tag to Taven and he hits a springboard moonsault press for 2. Tag to Bennett and Taven hits an enzuigiri but Bennett misses a super kick, connecting with Taven instead. Tag to Sydal and he hits a seated senton off the top to Bennett. Hurricanrana by Sydal and he sweeps the legs of Taven into the standing moonsault for 2. Jaw breaker/ standing leg drop combo by Sydal and he goes up. Bennett knocks him to the apron and Taven hits a springboard enzuigiri to knock him off. Liger clotheslines the Kingdom to the floor and Maria hops on the apron to prevent Liger from diving. Double clothesline by Liger and Maria shows her stuff to Liger, who is mesmerized. Another double clothesline to the Kingdom and Maria delivers THE MOTORBOAT~!!!! Double super kick by the Kingdom to Liger. Sydal throws some knees and catches Bennett with a spin kick. Sydal goes up for the SSP but TAVEN SUPERKICKS HIM ON THE WAY DOWN!!!! Hail Mary by the Kingdom gets 3.
Winners- The Kingdom ***1/4 ( Super fun tag match, combining some fun comedy involving Liger and Maria with some a good mix of high flying, physical action. It blows my mind that Liger can still deliver fun performances like this at his age and I believe the Kingdom is starting to click well as a team. )

Cedric Alexander vs. Kazuchika Okada w/Gedo
Both men battle for position and Alexander goes to the ropes to end that. They trade arm drags and we reach a stand still. Okada overpowers Alexander and Alexander catches Okada with a dropkick for 2. Snap mare and Alexander dropkicks Okada in the back for 2. Okada puts Alexander on top and he dropkicks Alexander to the floor. The lights go out and when they come back on, Okada hits a hanging DDT onto the floor. Back in, Okada stomps away in the corner and Alexander fights back with chops. Snap mare into a basement dropkick by Okada and he grabs a chin lock. Alexander fights out and Okada throws some elbows to the back of the neck. Enzuigiri by Alexander knocks Okada to the floor. Summersault plancha to the floor by Alexander!!! The lights go out again and when they come back on, Alexander hits a springboard clothesline. Michinoku Driver by Alexander gets 2!!! Flapjack by Okada and he hits a back elbow in the corner. DDT by Okada and he hits a running uppercut for 2. Slam by Okada and he goes up. Flying elbow drop by Okada and Alexander escapes the Rainmaker before catches Okada with a springboard Tornado DDT. Okada catches Alexander with the Air Raid back breaker for 2!!! DVD by Okada gets 2. Alexander counters the Tombstone into Kick to Kill. Corner dropkicks by Alexander gets 2!!! Okada misses the dropkick and Alexander hits a springboard enzuigiri. Okada catches Alexander with the dropkick and he hits the Tombstone!!! Rainmaker by Okada gets 3!!! Alexander refuses the handshake post match.
Winner- Kazuchika Okada ***3/4 ( Excellent match. Okada showcased his moveset and got in his signature stuff but he gave Alexander a ton and there were a couple of moments where you could have believed Alexander could pull off the upset. Alexander hung well with one of the best in the world, so this was an awesome performance on his part. )

Roppongi Vice (Rocky Romero and Trent Barreta) vs. The Decade (BJ Whitmer and Adam Page) w/Colby Corino vs. The Addiction (Christopher Daniels and Frankie Kazarian)
Page and Trent start but Kazarian quickly tags himself in. Battle for control to start and Kazarian rolls Trent up for 2. Backslide by Trent gets 2 and we reach a stalemate. Swinging neck breaker by Kazarian and Trent goes to Romero for comfort. He tags in and Kazarian overpowers him, forcing him to go to Trent for comfort. Romero pokes the eye of Kazarian and he snap mares him into a kick to the back. Trent tags in and he clotheslines Kazarian for 1. Tag to Page and he works over Trent in the corner. Trent comes back with a back elbow and Romero tags in. Hip toss/PK/standing moonsault combo to Page and Daniels by RPG Vice. Whitmer tags in and he hits a back elbow on Romero for 2. Spinning heel kick by Romero and Daniels tags in. Drop toe hold by Romero and he hits a basement dropkick to the shoulder of Daniels. Tag to Trent and he steps on the face of Daniels. Kazarian trips up Trent, allowing Daniels to hit a Lionsault to the back. He hammers Trent on the mat and Kazarian tags in. Double stomp to the back by Kazarian gets 2. Tag to Daniels and he hits a standing stomp for 2. Trent blocks the Angel’s Wings and Whitmer tags in. Back suplex by Whitmer gets 2. Whitmer dumps Trent to the floor and Page hits an SSP off the apron!!! Back in, Whitmer covers for 2. Tag to Page and he toys with Trent. Daniels tags himself in and he dumps Trent to the floor. He argues with Page and Page blocks the Angel’s Wings. He dumps Page to the floor but walks into a standing double stomp from Trent. Tag to Rocky and he hits a springboard crossbody. Hurricanrana to Kazarian and he follows up with a shotgun dropkick. Rapid corner clotheslines to the Addiction and he hits a double clothesline. Gordbuster in the ropes into a missile dropkick by RPG Vice gets 2 as Whitmer saves. Romero hits a flying knee strike off the apron onto Whitmer. Leg lariat by Kazarian to Trent and Romero hits some rights. Powerbomb/neck breaker combo by the Addiction gets 2. Slingshot summersault clothesline by Page gets 2. Exploder suplex by Whitmer to Daniels and Trent hits an enzuigiri. Slingshot DDT by Kazarian to Trent and Page catches him with a DDT. Flying knee by Romero to Page and he and Daniels clothesline each other. Head scissors takeover by Romero to Page and Trent hits a flying knee strike. Missile dropkick/Yoshi Tonic combo to Page but Daniels dumps Trent, allowing Kazarian to cover for 3!!! Kyle O’Reilly clears the ring of the Addiction post-match and holds up half of the tag belts.
Winners- The Addiction ***1/2 (Really fun tag match that got wild and out of control toward the finish, which is what you want in a match like this. RPG Vice looked strong and I dug the finish as it played into the Addiction’s new heel roles.)

They show Kevin Steen vs. Shinsuke Nakamura from War of the Worlds 2014 during intermission. I’ll review that match when I catch that show in full down the line.

ACH vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
Feeling out process and Nakamura puts ACH in the ropes to end that battle. Knee to the midsection by Nakamura and he get a DANCE OFF!!!! Nakamura tries to draw ACH in with a handshake but ACH is well aware. Dropkick by ACH and Nakamura hits a knee to the midsection. ACH tries to springboard in but Nakamura blocks and knocks ACH to the floor. Nakamura puts ACH on the barricade and hits a running knee lift. He puts ACH on the apron and he delivers another knee lift. Guillotine knee drop from the apron by Nakamura and back in, he snap mares ACH into a knee drop. Nakamura throws some knees at ACH in the corner and charges but ACH catches him with a second rope dropkick. Forearms by ACH and he throws some kicks at Nakamura. Corner forearm by ACH and he follows up with a lariat for 2. Spinning heel kick by Nakamura and they trade forearms. Enzuigiri by Nakamura and he puts ACH on the top turnbuckle. Running knee lift by Nakamura gets 2. Stunner by ACH and they battle for a suplex. Nakamura hits a knee to the mid-section followed by a gordbuster. Corner knee strike misses and ACH hits a Flatliner for 2. ACH goes up and hits a double stomp to the back of Nakamura for 2. Dropkick to the back knocks Nakamura off the apron and he hits the springboard summersault plancha to the floor!!! Back in, ACH goes up and misses the 450 splash. Boma Ye! to the back of the head by Nakamura. Release back suplex by Nakamura and he hits Boma Ye! for 3!!!
Winner- Shinsuke Nakamura ***1/2 ( Many had high expectations for this coming in, and from a wrestling standpoint, it probably under delivered on those expectations. This was still a pretty good match, at a slower pace than you would expect but both guys just ooze charisma and the match was entertaining and a blast to watch. )

ROH TV Championship- Jay Lethal © w/Donovan Dijak vs. Tetsuya Naito
Dijak distracts Naito to start, allowing Lethal to attack and stomp away to start. Snap mare into a basement dropkick by Naito. Hurricanrana by Naito gets 2. Backdrop by Naito and Lethal bails. Naito charges but Lethal moves, sending Naito crashing into the chair. Back in, Lethal covers for 2. Lethal dumps Naito to the floor and follows out with rapid suicide dives. Lethal tosses Naito into the barricade and back in, Lethal goes up. Double axe handle off the top by Lethal gets 2 and he goes to the chin lock. Naito fights out and Lethal catches him with a back elbow for 2. He goes back to the chin lock but again, Naito fights out. Naito cleans house and hits a swinging neck breaker. Naito goes up and hits a missile dropkick on Lethal. Slingshot basement dropkick by Naito gets 2. Lethal Combination by Lethal and he goes up. Flying elbow drop by Lethal gets 2. Enzuigiri by Naito and Lethal comes back with one of his own. Cabo kick by Naito and both men are down. They trade blows and Dijak grabs the leg of Naito, so Dijak gets tossed!!! Baseball slide by Naito to Dijak and he goes up. Lethal stops him and follows up. Naito escapes Lethal’s clutches and he hits the Frankensteiner for 2!!! Naito blocs the Lethal Injection and hits a German suplex for 2. Slam by Naito and he goes up. Stardust Press misses and Lethal rolls up Naito, uses the ropes for leverage for 2. Roll-up with the tights gets 2. Wheelbarrow roll-up by Naito gets 2. Lethal Injection by Lethal gets 3!!!
Winner and Still ROH TV Champion- Jay Lethal ***1/2 ( Another really good match. The Dijak interference was kept to a minimum so we got to see a rock solid back and forth contest and Lethal got a strong win against a major NJPW talent. The only thing preventing this from getting to the next level was the lack of emotional attachment to Naito as the challenge, so his near falls and attempt at the Stardust Press wasn’t as dramatic or exciting as it should have been. )

Michael Elgin vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi
Drop toe hold by Tanahashi and he dumps Elgin to the floor. Back in, Elgin overpowers Tanahashi and Tanahashi hits a springboard crossbody. Tanahashi begins to work the arm of Elgin and he low bridges Elgin, sending him crashing to the floor. Tanahashi reverses Elgin into the barricades and as Tanahashi was coming in, Elgin catches him with a summersault guillotine leg drop for 2. Delayed suplex by Elgin gets 2. Chin lock by Elgin but Tanahashi fights out. He goes for the sunset flip but Elgin blocks and he misses the seated senton. Tanahashi misses the Avalanche in the corner and Elgin hits a Northern lights suplex for 2. Elbow drops by Elgin and he hits a big splash for 2. He goes back to the chin lock but again, Tanahashi fights out. Dropkick by Tanahashi and he hits a flying forearm. Slam by Tanahashi and he hits the second rope Swanton Bomb for 2. Bicycle kick by Elgin and he catches Tanahahsi with an enzuigiri. Deadlift German suplex by Elgin gets 2. Dragon screw leg sweep by Tanahashi and he goes up. Crossbody off the top by Tanahashi but Elgin rolls through. Rolling elbow by Elgin gets 2. They go to the apron and Tanahashi throws some forearms to knock him off. Elgin sweeps the legs of Tanahashi, sending him crashing onto the apron. Elgin goes for a suplex on the floor but Tanahashi blocks and hits a swinging neck breaker on the floor. Tanahashi goes up and hits the crossbody to the floor onto Elgin!!! Back in, Tanahashi dropkicks the leg of Elgin and they collide mid-ring, knocking both men down. They trade forearms and Elgin blocks Sling Blade. Double stomp to the back by Elgin gets 2. Straight Jacket suplex by Tanahashi gets 2. Tanahashi goes up and hits High Fly Flow to the back of Elgin. He goes up for High Fly Flow but eats knees!!! Lariat by Elgin and he hits the Buckle Bomb. Tanahashi comes right back with Sling Blade. Tanahashi goes up and hits High Fly Flow for 3!!!
Winner- Hiroshi Tanahashi ***3/4 ( I was really digging the early part of the match where they were getting physical but it was still slowly building toward what looked to be a hot final stretch. Then, things seemed to fall apart as some sequences looked awkward and cluncky. As a result, this came just short of greatness but this was still an excellent contest none the less.)

Roderick Strong, Hanson, Raymond Rowe, Jay Briscoe, and Mark Briscoe vs. Bullet Club (AJ Styles, Doc Gallows, Karl Anderson, Nick Jackson, and Matt Jackson)
Everyone brawls to start and Strong is left alone with Nick to start. Spinning heel kick by Nick and Matt tags in. Double hip toss into the double basement dropkick by the Bucks. Rowe with a knee to the back of Matt and Anderson pulls Strong to the floor. Styles with a suicide dive to team ROH on the floor!!! Nick goes up and hits a corkscrew plancha to the floor!!! Everyone brawls on the floor and Mark leaps off the apron into a double super kick from the Bucks!!! In the ring, Sick Kick/flapjack combo by Gallows and Anderson to Strong and Gallows fires away at Strong in the corner. Gallows sends Strong hard into the corner and Styles tags in. Back breaker by Styles and Matt tags in. Handspring back rake by Matt and the Bucks hit an assisted Sliced Bread #2 on Strong. Running knee strike by Nick gets 2 and Matt tags in. Strong catches Nick with a back breaker and he hits an overhead belly to belly suplex on Matt into Nick. Tag to Mark and it’s RED NECK FU~!!!! Rights by Matt and Mark comes back with a big boot. Tag to Anderson and Jay. Clothesline by Jay and Nick tags in. Crossbody off the top by Nick and Jay comes back with some jabs. Big boot by Jay and Rowe tags in. Flying knee strike by Row and Hanson hits a seated senton in the corner. Rowe with a gutbuster/backbreaker/powerbomb combo onto Nick. Tag to Jay and he snap mares Nick into a basement dropkick for 2. Tag to Mark and he hits a suplex for 2 as Matt saves. Tag to Strong and he hits a back suplex for 2. Waist lock by Strong but Nick fights out so Strong hits a dropkick for 2. Tag to Hanson and Nick catches him with a super kick. Tag to Styles who hits a springboard forearm. He fires away at Rowe before hitting a discus clothesline. Hanson backdrops out of the Styles Clash and Gallows tags in. Clotheslines by both men have no effect and Hanson takes him down with a lariat. Super kick by Gallows and Anderson tags in. The Bullet Club all charge at Hanson in the corner and IT’S A FIVE MAN SUPERKICK FOR 2 as team ROH saves!!!! Styles and the Bucks hit moonsault presses off the apron to Team ROH!!! Magic Killer to Hanson and Nick goes up for the 450 splash. Styles with a 450 splash!!! Matt with a 450 splash for 2!!! Rowe blocks a second Magic Killer and War Machine clear the ring of the Bullet Club. Dropkick through the ropes by Strong and Mark to the Bullet Club. Styles looks to springboard but Hanson blocks and knocks Styles to the floor. Hanson goes up and hits a summersault plancha to the floor!!!!! Back in, Strong throws corner knee strikes at everyone and he goes up with Matt. Superplex by Strong and he delivers one to Styles!!! He delivers another one to Anderson!!!! He catches Gallows with an enzuigiri and he goes up. Nick saves Gallows and Strong catches him with an enzuigiri. STRONG SUPERPLEXES NICK ONTO EVERYONE ON THE FLOOR!!!! In the ring, Gallows hits the Gallows Pole on Hanson. Urinage by Rowe to Gallows. Gun Stun by Anderson and Styles hits Bloody Sunday on Rowe!!! Strong hits a Sick Kick on Styles to save Rowe!!! Jay super kicks Matt and Strong hits End of Heartache. Jay Driller to Matt and Mark hits the Froggy Bow for 3!!!
Winners- Roderick Strong, Hanson, Raymond Rowe, Jay Briscoe, and Mark Briscoe ****1/4 (This was pure insanity from the opening bell. Some of the spots were ridiculous but it was part of the charm. This was a purley fun and incredible contest. The Bullet Club was awesome here and their act was so over it. Everyone got to shine and this was the great match that the show needed to get put over the top. Props to everyone involved, this was outstanding. )

After the match, Lethal lays out Jay and Styles with the TV title to end the show.

8.0

The final score: review Very Good

The 411

I think expectations heading into this show were so high that it was going to be hard for those expectations to be met. Some people will look at the singles' matches with Okada, Nakamura, and Tanahashi and feel disappointed that they did reach the level of greatness that many expected. However, if you look at this show without the high expectations coming in, this turned out to be one hell of a show. The entire card is filled with nothing but fun, competitive contests. All the NJPW guys worked their ass off and while they didn't produce any classics that fans are accustomed to seeing from them, they still put in quality efforts and guys like Alexander, ACH, and Elgin got a huge rub just by working with them. The show was a joy to watch and that main event was out of this world. ROH and NJPW should be proud of their effort here, this was one of the more fun ROH shows that I have watched. Go out of your way to get the reply of the iPPV and I look forward to checking out the rest of the weekend in the upcoming weeks.