Ring of Honor Supercard of Honor X, Night One – April 1st, 2016

April 1, 2016

From the Hyatt Regency in Dallas, TX

Your hosts are Kevin Kelly and Mr. Wrestling #3

Christopher Daniels vs. Bobby Fish

Kelly notes how Daniels just celebrated his 46th birthday. He looks younger than his age. Fish and Daniels start out on the mat. Neither man can gain the advantage as they trade holds as Fish works the leg and Daniels the arm. Daniels lands a cheapshot then stomps Fish in the corner. Daniels works over Fish for a bit then taunts the crowd. Fish comes back with some kicks then hits a slingshot senton for two. Fish lays into Daniels with forearm smashes but the referee steps between them and that allows Daniels to kick him down. Fish is on the floor as Daniels runs out and roughs him up, mostly targeting the arm as the crowd chants for Fish. Back inside, Daniels continues to work the arm. The crowd rallies behind Fish as Daniels has him in an armbar. Fish fights back by kicking Daniels leg but Daniels takes him down with an armbreaker. Daniels stands on Fish’s arm then re-applies the armbar. Fish is able to kick Daniels in the head from the mat as both men are down. Fish gets up and drives Daniels into the corner. He takes him down with an elbow smash then sends Daniels into the corner with an Exploder after a reversal sequence. Fish covers but Daniels gets his foot on the ropes. Fish heads up top and hits a moonsault but lands on his arm as Daniels then puts on another armbar but Fish is able to reach the ropes with his feet. Daniels then hits a Northern Lights Suplex for a nearfall before applying a cross armbreaker. Fish then counters that into an ankle lock and drags Daniels to the middle of the ring but Daniels is able to escape then hits a running STO for two. Daniels sets up for the BME but he lands on his feet after Fish rolled out of the way and starts hobbling on his injured leg. Fish takes him down with a dragon screw then they trade strikes, each targeting the body part they have been all match long until Fish is able to apply the kneebar. Daniels tries to make it to the ropes but cannot and taps out (14:44) ***3/4.

Thoughts: An excellent opener. The psychology was there and they built up to a good finish. With age, Daniels has proven more than capable at being able to adapt to a slower in-ring style and Fish is an excellent technical wrestler.

Roderick Strong vs. Moose w/ Stokely Hathaway

Fish is on commentary, sporting an ice pack on his arm. The match starts when Strong attacked Moose from behind. Moose comes back with a dropkick as the crowd chants for him. Outside the ring, Moose roughs up Strong as Fish is hyping up his 2/3 falls match against Strong the following day. Strong mocks the Moose chants after he crashed and burned then hits a running kick. Back inside, Strong targets the back as Fish continues to run him down. Moose powers out but Strong rakes the eyes to ground then re-applies the move. Strong rolls outside to yell get in the face of a fan that was booing him but is met with an uppercut when he enters the ring. Strong comes back with a dropkick but outside, Moose catches him and swings Strong into the guardrail. They fight inside the ring where Moose almost puts Strong away with a sitout chokeslam. He follows that up with a clothesline then hammers away. Strong catches Moose in midair with a dropkick as that gets two. The announcers point out how Dave Meltzer is in attendance as Moose and Strong are trading strikes. Strong hits a jumping knee strike then they fight on the apron where Strong drops him with a back suplex. They fight inside where Moose places Strong on top then dropkicks him to the floor. Moose sets up for a bicycle kick but accidentally hits Fish. Back inside, Strong hits a superplex. He follows with a gutbuster but Moose catches Strong with a discus clothesline as both men are down. Moose is up first and charges but Strong shoves the referee in the way. Strong hits a gutbuster then the sick kick but Moose kicks out at one. Strong then hits another knee strike and pulls down his knee pad for another one and that puts Moose away (14:14) ***1/4. After the match, Fish runs in and beats on Strong. Fish then shakes hands with Moose before they leave.

Thoughts: Good match but it did lose steam towards the end. Moose continues to improve by leaps and bounds. The end certainly seems like they are moving towards a Strong vs. Fish feud.

BJ Whitmer comes out in street clothes before his regularly scheduled match. He brings out Joey Daddiego and Taeler Hendrix as the crowd boos and chants “please retire.” This drags terribly and Whitmer is not all that strong on the mic then he finally gets to the point to tell us about how he got “bought out” by the House of Truth and will be on commentary. In reality, he is doing this to avoid Adam Page, who he is feuding with. I thought this sucked and Whitmer is not the person you want carrying long promo segments.

Joey Daddiego w/ Taeler Hendrix vs. Adam Page vs. Donovan Dijak w/ Prince Nana vs. Frankie Kazarian vs. Cheeseburger vs. Dalton Castle

This match is under lucha rules, meaning guys can switch out of the ring without tagging. The crowd chants for Castle as he starts off against Kazarian. Castle gets the best of him then everyone refuses Kazarian’s tag, with the young boys even taunting him about that. Cheeseburger sneaks in and rolls up Castle for a nearfall then Daddiego tags Castle and they work a sequence. Daddiego spits at Dijak while holding Cheeseburger, then Dijak catches Cheeseburger and knocks over Daddiego. Dijak runs wild for a bit then everyone gets hit in the nuts besides Kazarian, who mocks them all as everyone then waits and boots him in the nuts at the same time. The match breaks down then Dijak takes out everyone with a springboard somersault plancha. Back inside, Cheesburger runs wild until Castle hits the Bang-a-Rang for the win (9:42) **1/4. After the match, Dijak and Daddiego brawl then Taeler slips Daddiego a chair as he plays possum before whacking Dijak with a chair then hammering away.

Thoughts: The match was okay and all-action but nothing stood out and I was getting flashbacks to 2003 RoH with a bunch of random, lower card guys thrown in a multi-man match. Although, they at least did some storyline advancement with Daddiego and Dijak and Castle, the most over person in the match got the win. No one really stood out here or embarrassed themselves. It was the weakest match on the card.

Kyle O’Reilly vs. Matt Sydal

The crowd is hyped for this match. It starts off with each guy trading moves as they attempt to gain an advantage. They try to figure each other out and end up in a stalemate as the crowd approves. O’Reilly knocks Sydal down with an uppercut then kicks him in the corner. Sydal comes back with a headscissors before connecting with a roundhouse kick. Sydal gets a nearfall with a spinning wheel kick as he is in control. Sydal targets the leg until O’Reilly comes back with a knee smash. O’Reilly now targets the arm as he works some really painful looking holds. The announcers plug the main event for tomorrow night as O’Reilly faces Adam Cole in a No Holds Barred match. Sydal fights back by trying to kick the leg then blocks a kick to his arm and sweeps O’Reilly down in a neat spot. Sydal hits a standing moonsault for two then goes back to targeting the leg. They head up top as O’Reilly takes him off with an armbreaker. Sydal reverses a go-behind then hits the slice but O’Reilly catches him in the Kimura off of a standing moonsault. Sydal reaches the ropes then Sydal tries a few pinfalls but is unable to put O’Reilly away. O’Reilly then knees Sydal in the face before hitting a butterfly suplex. O’Reilly then follows with a Regal-plex as that gets a nearfall. They trade kicks then O’Reilly hits a tornado DDT. Sydal reverses a powerbomb with a rana in midair for a very close nearfall as the crowd chants that was three. Sydal hits a roundhouse kick then heads up top but O’Reilly cuts him off. They fight as Sydal shoves O’Reilly off then hits a double knee smash. Sydal heads back up top and tries the shooting star press but O’Reilly catches him with a triangle hold then rolls around to apply the cross armbreaker as Sydal taps out (22:11) ****.

Thoughts: Excellent match. Although it basically had the same psychology as the opener, these guys added a bit more pizzazz to their match and it was why I rated it higher. O’Reilly is one of the best technical wrestlers in the world and Sydal has been great over the past year and both guys showed that off here.

Adam Cole vs. ACH

They take turns backing each other in the corner before working a fast-paced sequence that ends in a stalemate. Cole signals for a test-of-strength then ACH messes around but Cole boots him in the mid-section. They continue to go back-and-forth until ACH hits a dropkick. Cole rolls outside then cockily walks away from a charging ACH while calling timeout but ACH ends up booting him from the apron. ACH roughs up Cole then leaps onto the guardrail but Cole kicks him down as ACH lands on his head. Back inside, Cole targets the head before applying a chinlock. ACH tries to fight back and ends up suplexing Cole on the ropes as both men are down. ACH is up first and hammers away. He kicks Cole from the mat then turns him inside-out with a clothesline. The crowd is behind ACH who ends up getting two with a German suplex. He heads up top but escapes before Cole can cut him off. ACH ends up booting Cole from the apron then follows with a slingshot cutter for a nearfall. He climbs up top again but Cole shoves him to the floor. ACH just beats the ten count but Cole hits a running kick then follows with a Shining Wizard for two as ACH’s mouth is busted open. Cole slams ACH then motions for a 450 splash off of the top rope and climbs up but ACH ends up shoving him outside then flies out with a springboard tope con hilo. Back inside, ACH rolls through the Midnight Star but eats a kick. Cole hits a neckbreaker but ACH kicks out of that. Cole is stunned as the crowd starts a “this is awesome” chant. Cole takes his time before climbing up but ACH cuts him off, kicks him in the face then hits a brainbuster for a nearfall. Victory roll gets two. ACH grabs a waistlock but Cole grabs the ref’s shirt as he low-blows ACH then hits a Fireman’s Carry Neckbreaker for the win (14:22) ***1/2.

Thoughts: Fun match. Cole wins to be kept strong and ACH losing due to cheating also keeps him fairly strong in defeat. The match started off slow and was built up well until the finish, which did come off as a bit abrupt.

All Night Express & Silas Young & Beer City Bruiser vs. The Briscoes & War Machine

The match starts off with an eight-man brawl that spills outside. The Briscoes fly out with dives and the Bruiser even hits a running senton from the apron. After a few minutes, the match settles down as Mark Briscoe is getting stomped in the corner as King taunts Jay. Mark fights out of the corner and tags out as Jay tuns wild on King. Death Valley Driver gets two. The Bruiser distracts Jay as King hits a cartwheel kick then a spinebuster. Young tags in as does Rowe and they duke it out. The Bruiser almost puts Hanson away with a frog splash as the match breaks down once again. Hanson climbs up top as everyone else is brawling on the floor and he takes them out with a somersault senton. Back inside, Mark is the legal man and he hits the Bruiser with a neckbreaker then finishes him off with the Froggy Bow (8:35) ***. After the match, War Machine taunts the Briscoes with the Tag Team Title belts as they get in each other’s faces.

Thoughts: This was better than I expected. It was all action and fun to watch. The end also hinted at a possible War Machine vs. Briscoes match for the titles, which did end up happening at the Global Wars PPV.

RoH World Championship Match: Lio Rush vs. Jay Lethal (c) w/ Taeler Hendrix

Will Ferrara is on commentary. The story here is that Rush, the RoH Top Prospect Tournament winner, was supposed to face the TV Title Champion but that is held by Tomohiro Ishii and he was booked in Japan so he got to face Lethal instead. Lethal relaxes in the corner as he soaks up some cheers. Rush takes down Lethal and covers for a one count as the champ is surprised. Rush takes Lethal down again and works a side headlock then works a reversal sequence that ends in a stalemate. Lethal ends up catching Rush with a cartwheel dropkick then works a hammerlock as he takes control of the match. Rush surprises Lethal with a rollup then hits a cartwheel dropkick. He slaps Lethal then hammers away until he is tossed in the corner. Lethal stomps a mudhole into Rush then drops an elbow. Lethal is back in control as he is acting more aggressive than cocky. Rush fights back and gets two off of an enziguiri. Lethal slides outside but runs back in to clothesline Rush then mocks him for being the best they have to offer. Rush kips-up with an enziguiri then dodges an apron dropkick. Hendrix tries to seduce Rush, who slaps her on the ass as she walks away. However, Lethal dropkicks him off the apron and takes him out with a tope as Hendrix walks away with a smirk on her face. Back inside, Lethal hits a back suplex as the announcers talk some letter from Prince Nana. He now works a side headlock but Rush escapes and hits a floating DDT as both men are down. Lethal heads up top but Rush cuts him off then flies outside with a tope con hilo. Back inside, Rush gets a nearfall and rolls through a frog splash but Lethal catches him with the Lethal Combination for two. Lethal yells about being the best in the world and roughs Rush up before calling for the Lethal Injection but Rush fights back with a flurry of strikes. He hits a reverse hurricarana then climbs up top for the Dragon’s Call and hits that for a nearfall as the crowd starts a “this is awesome” chant. Rush cuts Lethal off with a kick to the head as Lethal appears knocked out. Rush then climbs up top and tries for the Rush Hour but Lethal was playing possum and takes Rush off with a super Ace Crusher then hits the Lethal Injection for the win (19:36) ***3/4.

Thoughts: Really good match. Rush has potential, even if he is really short. He can wrestle. They told a good story and the crowd got behind Rush at the end.

After the match, Lethal reaches down and shakes the hand of Rush before grabbing the mic to say he is the best wrestler in the world. He then tells Rush he is really good and someday, might be better than himself but right now, he is the best in the world as he yells about being every man in the locker room as he says RoH have run out of ideas. Then, out of nowhere, Colt Cabana comes out in street clothes. He looks in better shape here than he has in years. Cabana comes out to say he has been here since 2002 and has seem them all and lists of several former champions. He then talks about being okay with his place on the card as an entertainer but believed in the underground and in an alternative. Cabana then said he does not want to be known as somebody’s friend and has been fired and rejected many times and was ostracized from wrestling. He then tells Lethal everyone wants to see him and still gets booked as the fans cannot reject or fire him. Lethal then tells Cabana that the fans do not make you the best wrestler in the world as the title does as he puts Cabana down for not being here for five years because the locker room does not want him. Cabana talks about turning down offers to return and went all over the world wrestling and loves that as an independent wrestler. However, this last phone call, he came to the realization that he would not be able to live himself without the RoH World Title around his waist. Lethal leaves then Hendrix slaps Cabana, who tells her to do it again. Lethal comes back to stop Hendrix as Cabana tells Lethal there is someone left and shoves him back before leaving. I thought Cabana was tremendous here as the veteran coming back to prove himself and trying one last time to get the title. Nice to see that he is in shape again and for a short program, its a good idea.

Motor City Machine Guns vs. Young Bucks

They start off with a lot of comedy. The Bucks take out the MCMG’s with super kicks then fly out with topes as the Bucks are in control. Back inside, the Bucks work over Shelley as they use quick tags and double-team moves. Matt cuts off a tag then taunts Sabin about how this isn’t TNA anymore as Kelly tells us saying TNA is a $100 fine while Mr. Wrestling III adds that is more than they (TNA) made this year. Shelley finally breaks free as Sabin runs wild. He hits Matt with a tornado DDT for two. Sabin then takes the Bucks out on the outside with a plancha as everyone is out on the floor. Back inside, Matt and Sabin are the legal men and they are on the mat. Nick tags and knocks Shelley off of the apron then hits Sabin with a facebuster before taking Shelley out with a moonsault. The Bucks hit Sabin with a few of their signature double-team moves. Shelley comes in to break up the More Bang For Your Buck then all four guys start using super kicks. Shelley ends up hitting Matt with a low blow after getting taunted then tries for the Sliced Bread but that is countered as the Bucks set up for the Meltzer Driver. Sabin breaks that up then the MCMG’s hit the Made in Detroit but Nick breaks up the pin attempt. The Bucks clean house shortly after that then hit Sabin with the Meltzer Driver for the win (18:28) **3/4. After the match, the Addiction hit the ring and beat on the Young Bucks. The Briscoes run out after that and beat on the Addiction. The MCMG’s and Bucks then look at Daniels and hit him with a super kick then the Briscoes join in and they hit him again as Kelly hypes up these four teams facing off tomorrow in the #1 contender’s match.

Thoughts: I felt this match was disappointing. It got better towards the end but the initial heat segment on Sabin was a drag for the most part. This was all really just a set up for the 4-team tag match the following night but it did not come off like a hot angle or anything.

Final Thoughts: Overall, I thought it was a solid show. Nothing was bad and it contained a decent amount of action. However, they really should have closed the show with the Lethal match and Cabana return rather than plugging the 4-way match that took place the following night. The show ended with a whimper as a result. Night Two took place the following night and I will have that recapped next week:

Here is my schedule for the next several days:

Thursday: RF Video Shoot Interview with Shawn Michaels

Friday: WWF Madison Square Garden 6/25/88

Saturday: Mid-South Wrestling TV 12/3/81

Sunday: WWF Wrestling Challenge 6/26/88

Monday: WWF Superstars of Wrestling 7/2/88

Tuesday: WWF Wrestling Challenge 7/3/88

Wednesday: RoH Supercard of Honor X, Night Two 4/2/16