Best in the World '16 was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by Ring of Honor. It took place in Cabarrus Arena in Concord, North Carolina on June 24, 2016. It was the seventh annual ROH Best in the World event.
Kyle O'Reilly def. Kamaitachi via submission
Solid opener to this event with Kamaitachi targeting O'Reilly's legs throughout the match. Kamaitachi is pretty fucking nuts from what I have seen in this match. There was no way in hell I would've done that Diving Senton spot and hit almost absolutely nothing as a result as O'Reilly clearly wasn't ready to catch him. I loved the exchange that led into a series of reversals that allowed O'Reilly to apply a modified version of his submission finisher to pick up the win.
After Kamaitachi spat in his hand to the Code of Honor in the post-match, I would like to assume that there's going to be a rematch... and that's not a bad thing at all. I just hope that O'Reilly would secure a spot higher up on these ROH cards instead of bouncing around between pointless fodder bouts and occasionally finding himself in the title picture. He's one hell of a talent and should be higher up on the card.
ACH def. "The Last Real Man" Silas Young via Midnight Star (450 Splash)
I loved the psychology in this match. Silas Young is a very underrated heel. At every opportunity he cut ACH off just as he was getting fired up to prevent ACH from using his high flying spots to the dismay of the crowd. When ACH finally got a big high flying spot off it was definitely worth the wait. I was about to get irked about Young doing a high flying spot when he's the heel but it worked out favorably because ACH cut him off instead as how the babyface should in those situations. Very well done there, ROH. Gotta appreciate the small things they do to upload the logic in professional wrestling.
Mark Briscoe def. "Mr. ROH" Roderick Strong
This match was all about Mark trying to gain Strong's respect. Going back and forth from move to move and hold for hold, this was an exciting match to from bell to bell. Sucks to see that this is Strong's last ROH match, but Strong definitely ended on a "strong" note - no pun intended. #ThankYouRoderickStrong
The Bullet Club (Adam Cole & The Young Bucks) def. Moose & War Machine w/ Matt Taven on commentary
Taven on commentary was going out of his way to verbally bury Adam Cole. That was a little odd to say they were buddies back in the Kingdom when Mike Bennett and Maria Kanellis were still in ROH. I could watch War Machine lay waste to guys and toss them around like rag dolls all day. With Moose added into the mix, they had a lot of crazy spots on hand - if it wasn't enough with the Young Bucks involved - with the Bullet Club getting tossed around like ragdolls. Somehow they pulled out the win, but I have to say that now that the buzz has worn off with Adam Cole as part of the Bullet Club that it's sad to see that he's diluted his wrestling style to work with the Bullet Club. He's really selling himself short being a part of a faction/stable when he's at his best as a singles star. You'd think he would have learned that from his run in the Kingdom.
ROH Tag Team Championship Match - The Addiction (c) def. Motor City Machine Guns
As much as I love these two tag teams, I can't help but notice that this match looked VERY rehearsed. You could blindfold all four men here and they could perform this match in their sleep. The finish was rather odd but it sets up another feud and a rematch, so I can't complain too much.
Fight Without Honor - BJ Whitmer def. Steve Corino
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| Kevin FUCKING Sullivan... Holy shit that was awesome to see the oriignal Architect and Taskmaster in a wrestling ring again. |
Personally, I felt that the Steve Corino/BJ Whitmer feud has gone on FAR too long for my taste and I was ready for this to be over. There was a point where this got a little too gruesome for my taste - mainly because I was eating dinner at the time of this match. The second that Sullivan showed up I fucking marked out for three reasons: 1) I instantly knew what he was referring to on the MSL & Sullivan Show podcast I listen to weekly on MLW Radio 2) Recently, I became a fan of his work while revisiting 1997 WCW on the WWE Network during his noteworthy feud along with the late Chris Benoit and Woman (Nancy Benoit) vs. Jacqueline and himself. 3) This moment was reminiscent of his old satanic gimmick and I'm dying to see where they go with this. Sullivan has a great mind for this business still and he has a lot of knowledge that he could pass onto the aspiring ROH stars.
ROH Television Championship Match - Bobby Fish (c) def. Dalton Castle w/ The Boys to retain
The second I saw Dalton Castle's entrance gear I immediately pictured Captain Yesterday from Futurama. Solid match but I was little bummed that Castle didn't pick up the win. ROH is sitting on a breakout star in the flamboyant Castle and this should have been the perfect platform to bank on that popularity. I'm guessing that they are going to book a rematch down road, but I don't see how they are going to correct this missed opportunity.
ANX now known as The Cabinet
What in the blue hell was this shit? They could've given this time to the main event or the undercard instead of wasting this on a PPV. Definitely the worst thing on the show without a shadow of a doubt. I guess Caprice Coleman really doesn't know where or what he's doing with his ROH career.
Seriously, ROH, if you want to do something like this again, save it for the TV tapings later that weekend. Give this time to something more productive to show your company in a better light. Hell, give the Women of Honor a spot on the next PPV card for crying out loud. I'm dying to see the ladies get a regular spot on ROH programming than just mere eye candy. I know it had to be killing Mandy Leon to sit at ringside ALL night and just watch all of this action instead of being a part of it.
One Year in the Making: The Rematch -- ROH World Championship Match - Jay Lethal (c) w/ Taeler Hendrix def. Jay Briscoe to retain
OH MY GOD... This fucking match... I was on the edge of my seat from bell to bell. Tons of close calls and near-falls, but Lethal ultimately came out on top as the winner, continuing the single best title reign in recent memory in modern day professional wrestling. Yes, better than CM Punk's reign - suck on that WWE marks. If you ask me, the ROH World title is the most prestigious in wrestling today just from how legitimate the competition for the title is built up as a threat and how credible the title's holders have been. Only the Best in the World - pun intended there for once... - have managed to win this title and it speaks volumes in the wrestling world that it's one of the last few titles that's taken seriously at this level in a mainstream environment.
Stellar performances by both men, but the biggest takeaway from this match for me and for mainstream professional wrestling in general is the fact that ROH has proven with this year long plus title reign with Jay Lethal that you can push black/African-American wrestlers as legitimate competitors without making them into dancing goofs, walking stereotypes, or comedic entertainment. I applaud Ring of Honor, as well as Impact Wrestling, for proving this point over the last few years. WWE could definitely take note, especially with their dated mindset for booking and handling minorities (i.e. non-Caucasian/white gimmicks).
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