Ring of Honor Wrestling Presents Best in the World (June 24, 2016) -- Results and Afterthoughts

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

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).

Ring of Honor Final Battle 2014 -- Results & Afterthoughts

Final Battle 2014 is a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by Ring of Honor (ROH). It took place on December 7, 2014 at the Terminal 5 in New York City, New York. Final Battle is ROH's biggest event of the year, similar to WWE's WrestleMania and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling's Bound for Glory.

Four Corner Survival Match - Hanson defeated Jimmy Jacobs (with B.J. Whitmer), Mark Briscoe, and Caprice Coleman

I've been a fan of Hanson since the Top Prospect Tournament at the beginning of the year and it's been a joy to watch him transform into his own star by the end of 2014. It was a bit lame to see Jimmy Jacobs and Mark Briscoe in this filler opening match, but they all looked strong here with the younger talent, Hanson and Caprice Coleman.

Roderick Strong def. Adam Page via referee stoppage

A part of me wishes that Roderick Strong would be the one member of the Decade that would be competing for the World Championship to give that group a sense of purpose other than feuding among themselves, but this match wasn't bad at all. Adam Page is growing into a man of his own right and I can tell that he's being groomed to take Strong's spot once Strong decides to splinter away from the rest of the faction.

The Young Bucks (Matt and Nick Jackson) and ACH def. The Addiction (Christopher Daniels and Frankie Kazarian) and Cedric Alexander

I love ALL of these guys in this match and you put them all together in ONE bout, you know it's going to be magical. It doesn't top most of the Bucks' other bouts from throughout the year, but it's definitely worth a look. If you're not a believer that ACH and Cedric Alexander have a bright future in this business, you will be a believer afterwards. I wouldn't be surprised if either WWE or TNA will be trying to scoop them up sooner more than later.

Michael Elgin defeated Tommaso Ciampa

I love seeing Elgin compete against ANYONE as I personally see him as ROH's Kurt Angle. He go toe-to-toe with anyone and make it look like one hell of a match. When he was squared up against Tommaso Ciampa, I knew this was going to be golden. I was surprised that Elgin came through with the win though as I was convinced that ROH would give Ciampa the win to balance out his kayfabe issues with authority over the last few months.

Tag team match for the ROH World Tag Team Championship - reDRagon (Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly) (c) defeated Time Splitters (Alex Shelley and Kushida) via submission

If there's anything to learn from this match, it's that Alex Shelley doesn't need Chris Sabin anymore as a tag team partner. Fuck a Motor City Machine Guns reunion. Kushida has all of MCMG's old moves down and then some new ones with Shelley. I'm glad to see Shelley still making a name for himself out there in Japan. As for reDRagon, this was another solid outing for them in their tag title reign. I have to be honest. At the start of 2014, I thought reDRagon were just two losers who just lucked out to win the gold by a fluke, but they have won me over throughout 2014 with their continued success - each match being better than the last. reDRagon and Jay Lethal are among the best champions that ROH have seen in quite some time.

Moose (with Prince Nana and Stokely Hathaway) defeated RD Evans (with Veda Scott)

This match ended up being a squash as Veda Scott played RD Evans for a fool and betrayed him to join up with Prince Nana, effectively ending their partnership and taking on Moose as their sole client. Much like Brock Lesnar, Moose ended #TheNewStreak after whatever number of wins that RD Evans made up with zero losses. The joke was funny while it lasted. Now for all of these individuals to move onto bigger and better things in 2015.

After her exposure on TNA's Knockout Knockdown and FWE ReFueled, I hope Veda Scott is picked up by Impact Wrestling. I would love to see her as part of that roster once she decides to branch out from Ring of Honor.

Singles match for the ROH World Television Championship - Jay Lethal (with Truth Martini and J Diesel) (c) defeated Matt Sydal

To say this was Matt Sydal's first PPV bout back in ROH, he definitely hasn't skipped a beat. If you thought his match against AJ Styles was amazing then you will be impressed here. Great match from top to bottom. Lethal's Lethal Injection (RKO) counter to Sydal's Shooting Star Press would make Randy Orton proud. Jay Lethal ended 2014 on a strong note as professional wrestling's best mid-card title holder of 2014, defending his title around the clock and overcoming EVERY challenge thrown his way. Whether you love or hate him, you have to admit that Lethal's reign has been impressive.

Fight Without Honor for the ROH World Championship - Jay Briscoe (c) def. Adam Cole

From start to finish, these guys gave each other everything they had and then some. I honestly thought that Adam Cole was going to walk away as ROH World Champion again. Boy, was I wrong. Adam Cole is definitely ROH's best pure heel and I wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't wind up with the title by the end of 2015. That being said, I'm sure the bad blood between the Briscoes and the Kingdom is FAR from over.

ROH Champions vs. All-Stars 2014 - Results & Afterthoughts

Ring of Honor returned to internet Pay-Per-View (iPPV) on Saturday, October 11, 2014 with their Survivor Series/Bragging Rights-style event, Champions vs. All Stars, pitting ROH's Champions against their All Stars (mostly #1 Contenders) in a 4 vs 4 Team Elimination Main Event.

To my personal delight, Veda Scott replaces Steve Corino on commentary for the first half of this event. Steve Corino returns for the latter half of the card.

Nigel confronts Tommaso Ciampa

The show opens with Scarlet Bordeaux welcoming Nigel McGuiness to the ring as she acts as ROH's personal ring announcer for tonight's event. She's sporting strawberry pink hair, which I'm guessing is leftover from her time acting as one of Adam Rose's Rosebuds on WWE.

Nigel formally welcomes back Ciampa but warns him that there will be NO tolerance for Ciampa attacking officials and other non-wrestlers outside of sanctioned matches. If he failed to comply that Ciampa would be banned from ROH. Nigel adds that Ciampa will be replacing Mark Briscoe in tonight's main event since he hasn't been medically cleared after being exposed to poison ivy.

Seriously, that's HANDS DOWN the most creative and the most stupid excuse to replace someone in a wrestling match that I've heard in YEARS. Bravo, ROH.

BJ Whitmer def. Will Ferrara

Ferrara seems to be ROH's next breakout star for 2015 as he was playing the underdog role here against Whitmer's vicious offense.

Ferrara made a strong impact during the Honor Rumble on the October 11th TV taping that was aired the very night that this event was live on iPPV. Unfortunately for Ferrara, tonight wasn't his night as the Decade's own BJ Whitmer made short work of him as payback for what happened during that match. I wouldn't be surprised if Ferrara is jobbing to the House of Truth on the next set of TV tapings after eliminating them from the Honor Rumble.

UPDATE: During the October 25 TV taping, Ferrara was given a Television Championship match against Jay Lethal - thus confirming my prediction about ROH getting behind this kid.

TaDarius Thomas def. Owen Tavers

This was the only "throw-away" match on this card, as Owen Tavers seemed to be a local jobber and not part of the current ROH roster - making this match completely pointless. That fact was driven home even more after the botched finish at the top rope (referee stopped the count at 2 even though there wasn't a kickout), forcing Thomas to finish Tavers with a spin kick to the face. 

Christopher Daniels def. Cedric Alexander

This was an amazing match from bell to bell. If Cedric Alexander isn't wearing gold by this time next year, I'm going to be shocked. Between him and ACH, they both have a strong future ahead of them in this profession. Christopher Daniels doesn't even skip a beat either and provides a worthy adversary for Alexander to test his skills against. This match was a nail-biter, especially in the final moments as you have no idea who is going to walk out of this as the winner.

Post-match Christopher Daniels gets on the microphone and puts over Cedric Alexander as the future of ROH and establishes the code of honor out of respect. Class act right here. Alexander may have lost (again in a high profile match) but he continues to win over fans and garner more respect from ROH's live audiences.

Jimmy Jacobs def. Frankie Kazarian 

Not a bad match, but I felt it was pretty crazy to book this immediately following Daniels/Alexander as that was a tough act to follow to begin with. Lots of near-falls and close calls in this one, but ultimately, Jimmy Jacobs comes out on top with a 2nd rope variation of the Contra Code to counter Kazarian's 2nd rope German Suplex attempt. It's also interesting to note that Jimmy Jacobs was pretty neutral in this match when The Decade are known for their heel antics.

Post-match, Jacobs gives an emotional promo about much it meant to win tonight in the very same building that he saw professional wrestling in for the first-time.

Matt Taven def. The Romantic Touch 

Keeping true to his namesake, The Romantic Touch wastes NO time hinting on Scarlet Bordeaux before the match starts.

This is rather confusing... I remember seeing Taven at the FWE ReFueled iPPV event last month and now he's back in ROH as a part (clearly heel now) of The Kingdom with Maria Kanellis, Mike Bennett, and Adam Cole. Shouldn't Taven be going after revenge towards Truth Martini and the rest of the House of Truth for betraying him? Yeah, I'm as confused as most of you guys.

UPDATE: Apparently, this iPPV was live AFTER ROH recorded their TV tapings that aired for October 25th while this event was live on October 11th. Way to spoil the "big surprise" for the TV tapings, ROH... Sheesh.

Matt Taven just seems like a poor man's replacement for Matt Hardy until he's done with the TV tapings for Impact Wrestling. He seems to be losing the "ladies' man" gimmick from before as well. Scarlet Bordeaux gave Taven the cold shoulder before AND after he won. Looks like Taven won't be winning back the "Hoopla Hotties" anytime soon.

I felt like this match should have went on after Daniels/Alexander. It felt more like a "cooldown" match than Jacobs/Kazarian was.

Champions vs. All Stars
ROH World Champion Jay Briscoe, ROH World TV Champion Jay Lethal w/ Truth Martini & ROH World Tag Team Champions reDRagon (Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish) vs. Adam Cole,Tommaso Ciampa Mark Briscoe, ACH and Roderick Strong

Get comfortable for this one as it's a well over a hour for this match, with a two hour time limit for this main event. The match itself is set up like a traditional Survivor Series match with the match continuing until there is a last man standing to deem either the team of Champions or All-Stars the winner.

Eliminations: 

1. Jay Lethal eliminated by ACH via School Boy Roll-up out of nowhere - This starts a minor "Bullshit" chant by the fans in attendance. I personally mark for both ACH and Jay Lethal, but that was just nuts to have Lethal lose within less than a minute into this match. 
2. Tommaso Ciampa via disqualification after Bobby Fish faked being hit with the Tag Team title. Ciampa goes nuts and levels everyone left with the gold until Nigel arrives to restore order just before Ciampa was about to lay his hands on the referee.
3. Kyle O'Reilly eliminated by Roderick Strong via an elevated backbreaker
4. Roderick Strong eliminated by Bobby Fish via quick roll-up immediately following O'Reilly's elimination. 
5. Bobby Fish via 450 Splash by ACH after receiving a Super Kick from Adam Cole.
6. Adam Cole via Doomsday Device by Jay Briscoe (w/ assist by Mark Briscoe) after Cole accidentally knocked ACH through the announcer's table at ringside. 
7. ACH via Jay Driller by Jay Briscoe to name Jay Briscoe the winner for Team Champions. 

Closing Thoughts

This wasn't a bad iPPV event at all. I just wish Ring of Honor advertised it better. Plus, it was pretty strange to air it LIVE the same night of their TV tapings. It was pretty short, but with only ONE throw-away match and a hefty-sized main event, I really can't complain much here. Even without the Young Bucks on the card, ROH really did give fans "more bang for their buck" - literally.