The Ring of Honor Final Battle pay-per-view event took place this past Friday night at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City.
There is quite the lineage of hard hitting wrestling shows emanating from this historic venue. This show felt like it was cut from the same cloth, and I mean that in the most respectful way.
MATT TAVEN w/THE KINGDOM vs. WILL OSPREAY: I was a huge mark for Matt Taven once upon a time. However, since he’s been with the Kingdom, I’ve been sold on him less and less. That was until this match. Ospreay seems to bring out the best in every single opponent that he steps into the ring with. O’Ryan and Marseglia got involved in the match several times, until Ospreay wiped them out with a springboard shooting star press. This left him vulnerable for Taven to pick him off and score the pin fall. WINNER: MATT TAVEN
WAR MACHINE vs. THE ADDICTION: These are two of my favorite tag teams in Ring of Honor. I was concerned with the injuries that both Daniels and Kazarian suffered not too long ago, but they didn’t miss a beat. Hanson and Rowe did a great job of isolating each member of the Addiction and cutting off the ring. Eventually, they were able to put down Kazarian outside of the ring, leaving Daniels to fall victim to the Fallout. WINNERS: WAR MACHINE
JAY LETHAL vs. MARTY SCURLL: Marty Scurll has become, for all intents and purposes, the Emperor Palpatine of the Bullet Club. He has been trying to get Jay Lethal to go to the dark side for quite some time. Lethal resisted for quite some time, despite all of Scurll’s antics in the ring (the umbrella is mightier than the sword). But Lethal finally gave Scurll a taste of his own medicine. With a distracted ref, Lethal delivered a low blow and then the Lethal Injection for the win. WINNER: JAY LETHAL
MOTOR CITY MACHINE GUNS vs. THE BEST FRIENDS (ROH Tag Team Championship): There were so many high spots and counters that I lost track. Chuckie T. delivered a piledriver to Sabin. After a counter to a double team by Chuckie T. and Baretta, Sabin immediately countered with a jackknife roll up. Despite the no sells, this was a solid match: WINNERS: MOTOR CITY MACHINE GUNS
SILAS YOUNG w/BEER CITY BRUISER vs. PUNISHMENT MARTINEZ vs. SHANE TAYLOR vs. KENNY KING (ROH Television Championship): So many people wanted Punishment Martinez to walk out as champion. I was one of those people. However, this kind of reminded me of Steve Austin in ECW. Austin had the business sense to understand that him being in the hunt works better in the long run. Taylor was quickly eliminated. Surprisingly, the champion (King) was then eliminated. Martinez did everything in his power to keep the Bruiser from becoming a factor in the match. But the crafty veteran experience of Young was too much for Martinez to overcome. WINNER: SILAS YOUNG
THE BRISCOES vs. BULLY RAY & TOMMY DREAMER: Well, when in Rome… This match was for the nostalgia crowd of mid-late nineties Extreme Championship Wrestling. These men attacked each other with everything from kendo sticks to cheese graters. A Dudley Death Drop that went horribly wrong due to a table not breaking led to Mark Briscoe having to drop an elbow on him from the top rope to finally put him away. WINNERS: THE BRISCOES.
THE HUNG BUCKS vs. DRAGON LEE, FLIP GORDON & TITAN (ROH Six Man Tag Championship): Love it or hate it, this match was as indieriffic as an ROH match can get. These men took a bit to get to the high flying, but once they did, pandemonium ensued. Dragon Lee is a personal favorite and he looked damn good in the ring. Flip Gordon still has a way to go as far as building sympathy during a match. But his acrobatic skill is off the charts. Hangman Page had two of his opponents in his grasp, allowing the Young Bucks hit them both with a double indytaker to pick up the win. WINNERS: THE HUNG BUCKS
DALTON CASTLE w/THE BOYS vs. CODY w/BRANDI RHODES (ROH World Championship): I hate that WWE won’t allow Cody to use his last name, Rhodes. Ok, got that off my chest. This match was full of surprises, not the least of which was Cody with blonde hair. The Boys and Brandi Rhodes antagonized each other, with Brandi delivering a plancha to the two. Castle got a visual tap out on Cody, but the referee was occupied and didn’t see. Cody countered the Bangarang and delivered Crossroads, but Castle kicked out. Castle finally got the Bangarang to connect this time around and we now have a new ROH World Champion: WINNER: DALTON CASTLE
This pay-per-view had a bit of everything. Smash mouth big dudes beating the hell out of each other, high flying action, hardcore brawling and some of the best mat wrestling in ROH all year. Final Battle lived up to the hype.
