On this installment of ROH two pasty white guys get killed.

Ring Of Honor is stepping it's game up. We have a new set and better lighting. The show has never looked this good. The new setup gives ROH a bigger feel. Which it not only needs but deserves. We're talking about a company that just ran two sold out shows in Japan, co-run by NJPW, back to back. This is a company that has, probably for the first time, been able to retain talent. Jay Lethal, Bobby Fish, Kyle O'Reily, and the Briscoes all turned the WWE down so that they could continue to work for ROH, and New Japan of course.

What I'm getting at is that ROH is a viable option for both wrestlers and wrestling fans. The union with New Japan is an amazing boon and they are in the position to help NJPW as much as it has helped them. This new look is the first step in ROH proving that.

So how do they christen this new set? With a Roddy vs. the world match. That is some what of a step back. Roddy lost his TV title in Japan over the weekend but this was filmed before that. That's the problem with taping shows so far in advance. But that can't be helped.

The good news is that Roddy is facing Jonathan Grisham. The bad news is that Veda Scott came out before the match. She offered Grisham a check "with more zeroes on it than you've ever seen in your live" as she put it. In return he would give Cedric Alexander the title shot and leave ROH forever. I'm not sure how you can just give someone your title shot but apparently you can. Although, since Roderick Strong has been facing basically anyone, I doubt it would be that difficult for Alexander to get a shot.

Anyway this meant that there was no way the match wasn't going to have interference. Not that it mattered since I already knew who was going to win, pitfalls of pre-taping again.

Grisham sent Veda packing, as a good face should, and the match got under way. Grisham is a guy that NJPW could use in the Junior division.

I just remembered that Bobby Fish is facing Roderick Strong this Friday. Since the title is no longer on the line Bobby Fish might actually win. I had assumed that Roderick would get his rematch at that show but I guess Ishii is going to get a longer title reign than I thought. I am very OK with that.

I was wrong by the way. Roderick vs. Grisham did not have any interference. It was a fantastic match by the way. Where has Grisham been all my life. This guy is fucking awesome. He did a lot of submission work and intricate grappling which is how a smaller guy should work.

A lot of Cruiserweight guys feel need to fly. That is an option but it isn't the only one. Grisham used his speed and skill to take down the bigger Roddy. He didn't fly once and it worked.

After the batch Bobby Fish came out and yanked the title right out of Strong's hands. There was a bit of a fight but Strong wanted nothing to do with Bobby. Friday can't come soon enough.

Tim Hughs and Brutal Bob Evans are called Tough Guy Inc. That name is too cool for them.

They were destroyed by war Machine. As they should have been. I don't get why War Machine wasn't in the Japan shows.

I kind of love Tough Guy Inc's delusional wannabe bad ass thing. The idea that these two pasty flabby guys are walking around like the toughest sons of bitches' ever is hilarious. The beginning of this match, as Hughs and Evan both took one move from Ray Rowe and scurried to their corner, was priceless. I want more of this team and their delusional incompetence.

The All Night Xpress came out to cut a promo on war machine. They were armed. Kenny King had a chair and Rhett Titus had a pole. The weren't actually out there for a fight though. King came out wearing his glasses and a jacket. Titus was shirtless and oiled up. That visual disparity was odd. Titus should have been dressed like King. They came off as chicken shit heels but Rhett looking like he was ready for I fight didn't jive with that.

I need to make mention of Kenny King's best line. He called War Machine "Bearded Bitches". Kevin Kelly had a great reaction to it.

Silas Young has a bit of Deniro face going on today. I really don't want to peer too deep into this angle. When I start to, as I like to call it, "Question Kayfabe" there's no knowing where things will go. Normally when I do it with something like Decay it's comical or quirky. But if I delve into this storyline it's going to get very dark. There is no other way for me to see it. So I choose not to. I see this as Silas Young wanting the boys back so they can clean his house and nothing more.

The Young Bucks didn't do a great job with their promo. It was very stilted and awkward. I've never seen them like that before.

You don't see a lot of squash matches in ROH. BJ Whitmer got one here. I have no idea who the guy he faced was. All I know is that Whitmer made short work of him.

Steve Corino came out as a distraction for Adam Page. This is the best Page has looked, in my opinion, since he joined the Decade. He was floundering, bad. A feud with Whitmer is just what the doctor ordered.

Of the three men in the Triple Threat World Title match, Adam Cole is the one I want to win the least. Kyle O'Reily is my top choice. I love Jay Lethal but I want to see him have a title run as a face. He's great as a heel but I think a face run would validate him more.

I can't help it. Taeler Hendrix. Wow!

Moving on.

Nigel McGuinness could not catch a break tonight.

Adam Cole came out for Story Time. That led to Jay Lethal, and the aforementioned Taeler Hendrix, coming out. Lethal told Cole he didn't feel like waiting until Friday.

This was the fourth time tonight that has happened. Nigel is at his wit's end.

Before Cole and Lethal could go at it Kyle O'Reily came out. He got into the ring, microphone in hand, and looked like he was going to speak. Instead he kicked Lethal in the chest and the fight was on. When all was said and done O'Reily stood tall.

The 14th Anniversary show is shaping up to be excellent.

Main Event time. ACH & Alex Shelly vs. the Briscoes with ODB. Haven't see her in a while. Christopher Daniels, who is facing Alex Shelly on Friday, is on commentary.

This match. Watch this match. And then tell me why ACH wasn't in Japan. They guy is so good. That flipping kick, he called it the Flash Kick, was crazy. This was a really great match that showed off just how great ACH is. Not that the Briscoes and Alex Shelly didn't shine, they did, but ACH is a damn star.

The match ended when Christopher Daniels interfered. The Briscoes got the win. After that Frankie Kazarian and Chris Sabin came out. Daniels and Kazarian attacked Shelly while Sabin watched. They tried to get Sabin to participate but he was less than enthusiastic. Could this be the beginning of a reunion between Sabin and Shelly? Who knows?

This was a fantastic show. The new set looks great, the build up for Friday was spot on, and the in ring action was fun. I'd put money on this being my show of the week.

Before I get to the News I want to take a few moments to go over the Ring of Honor Japan shows that took place this weekend. I'm not doing a review or recap, these are just some random thoughts I had after the shows. These thoughts are for both nights and are a little jumbled. Normally I write these post while watching the shows but I didn't do that for these. I just enjoyed them and then later jotted these down. Sorry if that makes it a little confusing.

First a list of guys who should have been there.

War Machine-ROH is always touting it's Tag Division, and it should, yet the Tag champs are nowhere to be seen. Can you imagine how well received those two hosses would be in Japan? They could have a had a great match against Anderson and Gallows, and since the latter are leaving, even won.

Christopher Daniels-This one makes the least amount of sense. The guy has a history in Japan as Curry Man and has worked for New Japan very recently. Nothing against Frankie Kazarian but why would you send him but not Christopher Daniels?

Will Ferrara-I know that's an odd name to throw in but the guy is a perfect fit for the Junior Division. He isn't a high flyer but he has a great intensity that the Junior division is missing.

Quick question about Ferrara. Is he ROH's young boy or Honma? He gets the occasional win which would take him out of Young Boy territory but they are few and far between. I'd peg him as ROH's Honma but he isn't nearly as over. He is somewhere in between.

Adam Cole-This one I don't get at all. The guy is one of the biggest stars ROH has and yet he isn't here? Makes no sense.

ACH-I'm sure ACH would have loved Japan, the guy is a huge nerd, and I know Japan would have loved him. He is another guy that would be perfect for the Junior division. With his skill and high flying ability he would have been an instant hit.

Taeler Hendrix-Since Maria Kanelis left the NJPW camera men have no one to lust after.

Nigel McGuiness-He makes a better spokesman than Delirious.

Cheeseburger-The guy is over. The night after Wrestle Kingdom the crowd was chanting his name. He could have teamed up with Liger in the place of Matt Sydal.

Okay, lets get to my thoughts.

Gedo needs to shave that beard off right now. It's too thin, doesn't fit his face, and looks dirty.

Delirious has crazy cardio. The guy spent most of his first match running around the ring.

Moose and Dalton Castle are over. I was shocked, as was Moose based off the look on his face, by how much. Moose I get. A big super athletic guy with a name that easy to chant? Why wouldn't he be over?

Dalton Castle surprised me. Than again the Japanese do love characters. The Japanese boys weren't as good as his usual ones though.

Moose was crazy impressive  both two nights. On night one he was in a multi man against the Bullet Club. He was in the ring with Bad Luck Fale and the difference between the two was very apparent. Moose is the much better worker and athlete but Fale is a monster.

Moose, while having size (both height and width), isn't a monster. He's too athletic and likeable. The guy has a great smile and you could see how enthused he was at being in Japan. There is a very genuine quality to him. When you add that to his athletic ability, when he runs up the turn buckles (even more impressive in New Japan since they don't have turnbuckles just one long pad), stands on the top rope, and does a cross body it is so fluid you forget how big the guy is.

Fale on the other hand is a monster. He has the quiet domineering persona. When he stands in the corner of the ring with his arms crossed, it's like when Shibata stands in the center of the ring, he is not to be fucked with.

The other big man in the match was Cody Hall. Cody has a lot of potential but he has to find a look. I don't know if he's bald but if he isn’t he needs to let his hair grow out. He isn't the best looking dude as it is but the super short hair is doing him no favors. Having said that the guy has a bright future ahead of him. I'm pretty sure he is bigger than his father and he damn sure is more athletic. He needs more seasoning but he is going to go places.

Like the WWE. It's only a matter of time. with his size and lineage I'm surprised he isn't there already.

Shibata and reDRagon make sense as a team. Those three have an air of believability to them. I could see them going for the Never trios titles. I'm sure Shibata vs. Goto is something that's going to happen down the line.

My god is Kenny Omega strong. I think it was during the first night he went to give someone the One Winged Angel and the guy didn't quite get all the way up. Kenny kept him from falling, held him, and then powered him up. I'm pretty sure it was Bobby Fish, anyway it was a very impressive feet strength.

Roderick Strong and Ishii had a phenomenal match. I didn't think, for a second, that Ishii was going to win but it was a great way to go. Ishii as TV champ works, even though I doubt he'll have a long reign, and having the title defended at NJPW events is good for ROH.

I can't wait to see the eventual rematch.

Mark Briscoe has to stop doing that Blockbuster to the outside. That shit is going to kill him. The Cactus Elbow is bad enough.

Is it wrong that I want Ishii vs. Dalton Castle?

The only other match I want as much as that is Chuck Taylor vs. Toru Yano. That sadly will never happen.

The crowd for these events were louder and more animated than at the NJPW ones. There was even a "This is awesome!" chant.

Jay Lethal is never going to get over as a heel in Japan. He can't win clean to save his life. It took Truth and all of Los Ingobernables to take out Honma.

Actually let's take a step back. I still have no idea why Honma was the guy Lethal faced. I would have gone with Goto. He just came off a good showing with Okada and is on a down turn anyway, he got pinned in the multi-man on this show, and is a more legitimate challenger.

I like Honma, but having NJPW's resident jobber, yeah I know he's one half of the Heavy Weight Tag Champs but that doesn't change the rest of his New Japan career, facing the ROH champ sends a bad message. Add to that the fact Lethal needed so much help to put him down makes Jay look bad.

I do love that Jay and Truth are now part of Los Ingobernables. It's a good fit for them.

Lethal needs a hard fought clean win to cement himself as a star in Japan. I'm not going to lie, the guy was getting a good reaction but that was from the Japanese ROH fans. If he is ever going to get any love from the broader NJPW fans he needs to prove himself. Show some of that 'Big Mike' fighting spirit.

I just want to take a second to talk about Naito. I wasn't a huge fan of his before but since he turned Heel and joined Los Ingobernables he is doing fantastic work. He was always good in the ring but now he has an interesting character. He can also apparently read English.

At one point during the match on night 1 Naito got a hold of the book of truth. The dust cover on the book had Kanji on it but when it came off we could see the title of the book underneath. The Book of Truth is actually the Book of Insider Information. Since the title is in English it's safe to assume the rest of the book is as well. That didn't stop Naito from reading it. So there you go.

I've had the opposite reaction to EVIL. I liked him a lot as Watanabe in ROH but his new gimmick doesn't do much for me. I just don't think it has legs.

All in all these two shows were great. I think ROH should do these more often. Maybe twice a year. More than that might weaken the market but I'm sure two visits to Japan a year would be sustainable. Hell they should do a show in the UK as well. Venturing abroad is good for the brand.

These shows will eventually be broadcast on TV. Normally I'd skip those weeks since I already saw the matches but not this time. The copies of the shows I saw had no commentary audio. Even if they did it would have been in Japans, which I have no problem with. I would have loved to hear the Japanese announcers reactions to Dalton Castle and Moose.

I'm looking forward to re-watching these matches with Kevin Kelly and whoever he has by his side calling them. I'm also hoping to see Jay Lethal representing Los Ingobernables on upcoming events.


So a bit of news. Michael Elgin signed a two year deal with New Japan. This is great for him. He is doing his best work over there. The guy is a perfect fit for NJPW. I can see him going after and winning the NEVER title and maybe the Heavy Weight Tag Belts with Tanahashi. Wish he'd trim that beard though.

Shinsuke Nakamura has officially signed with NXT. WWE broke that news after Fastlane. In the video you can hear Nakamura speaking English. He has a decent grasp of the language. I think he might have a shot at being something in the WWE. That is to say I think WWE has a shot of not fucking this up. Nakamura is too good to fail by himself. If this goes wrong it won't be because of him.

Watching that video I smiled, because Nakamura got what he wanted and will be presented to a much larger audience. You have to be happy that the guys you like are going to make more money and work the biggest stage of them all. But man I wish he was still in New Japan. WWE is just a dead end for so many people. I can't help but be worried for him.