Chris Jericho's Rock 'N' Wrestling Rager at Sea Review - November 3, 2018

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

"Smooth Sailin'" Ashley Remington (Dalton Castle) def. Christopher Daniels in a Sea of Honor Tournament Quarterfinal Match

Castle was scheduled to face Daniels but was said to have suffered a concussion at the hands of Matt Taven in the first round and thus wasn't cleared to compete. No, I have zero clue what the point of him changing personas was and the crowd didn't know how to react, but they eventually warmed up to it once the bell rang. It was more comic relief than a true wrestling match, but it was fun while it lasted. Both men are former ROH World Champions and Castle was the bigger star at the time, so while it made sense for him to advance, the finish felt flat.

Flip Gordon def. Marty Scurll in a Sea of Honor Tournament Quarterfinal Match

Gordon and Scurll were established as good friends on Being the Elite around this point (how can you forget "Marty and Flip Take Japan"?), so that's why they teased hugging beforehand. Unsurprisingly, this was one of the better matches of the entire tourney. They worked very well together and both guys had strong showings. I was glad they received as much time as they did to deliver the level of match they were capable of.

Jay Briscoe def. Cheeseburger in a Sea of Honor Tournament Quarterfinal Match

Cheeseburger stuck out like a sore thumb in this tournament considering who else was involved, but to this credit, he played his role well and the crowd was into him. Briscoe was the bully heel here and allowed Cheeseburger to score some offense before picking up the decisive victory. It told a simple yet effective story, but this might have been better off shorter since the outcome was never in doubt.

Mark Briscoe def. "Hangman" Adam Page in a Sea of Honor Tournament Quarterfinal Match

Perhaps the best part of this match was when a bird flew into the crowd and everyone marked out, including commentator Colt Cabana. He was losing his mind over that for at least a minute. In all seriousness, this was a quality contest that had a nice sense of urgency. I expected Page to make it to at least the semifinals, so Briscoe winning surprised me. However, I can see why they would want to go with brother vs. brother in the semifinals instead.

Flip Gordon def. Dalton Castle in a Sea of Honor Tournament Semifinal Match

Castle ditched the Ashley Remington persona for this match. Unfortunately, he either got hurt at some point or was already injured coming in because that finish was abrupt and looked sloppy. Castle was fine, and although the comedy was clever with him pretending like he had sun burn and couldn't be touched, it wore out its welcome after a few minutes and Gordon had to carry him for the rest of it. At least the right man advanced.

Jay Briscoe def. Mark Briscoe in a Sea of Honor Tournament Semifinal Match

This brotherly battle has happened more times than you'd think over the years, yet they never cease to bring the best out of each other. Both of them wrestled like the world championship itself (not a shot at it) was on the line and the crowd was engaged in the action. It was odd that the referee didn't call for the bell when Jay grabbed the chair, but that's nitpicking. These guys really went all out and had an excellent affair. As a former ROH World Champion himself, Jay was the better option of the two to advance.

Flip Gordon def. Jay Briscoe in the Finals of the Sea of Honor Tournament to Earn a Future ROH World Championship Opportunity

This was a big opportunity for Gordon to shine and he definitely did by taking Briscoe to his limit and even kicking out of the Jay Driller down the stretch, which not many people can lay claim to doing. It probably could have been better with even more time, but what we got from them was solid. Gordon ended up vying for the ROH World Championship many months later but not against Jay Lethal. Rather, it was against Matt Taven following Supercard of Honor. Needless to say, he failed to win the title, and although he recently earned another shot at the strap, it's unknown when he'll be receiving said championship opportunity due to all of Ring of Honor's events being canceled through the end of May due to the coronavirus.

Bullet Club (Kenny Omega, Cody and Marty Scurll) def. Alpha Club (Chris Jericho and The Young Jericho)

Everyone in this match except for Jericho was a part of Bullet Club at this time. In fact, they announced that they were leaving Bullet Club and forming The Elite on this very same cruise. Plus, Jericho joined AEW at launch two months later, so this match was significant for several reasons. It was all action, it felt like a pay-per-view main event, Jericho didn't look out of place whatsoever, and the audience ate up everything they did. Seeing Jericho mix up with most of these guys for the first time was surreal, but it's since become a regular thing in AEW. It's interesting to note that Jericho and Omega teased another match afterward, which actually ended up being the main event of AEW Double of Nothing last May.

Overall Show

All of these matches were taped over the course of several days in October/November 2018 on the Jericho Cruise. It was a cool concept and it helped that the tournament had actual stakes and that the main event felt must-see. It worked so well that Jericho actually did it again in January 2020, except with AEW talent. They filmed an excellent episode of Dynamite on the boat and Cody has since said it will be live next year. Even a year and a half later, this special is still worth checking out in my opinion. It's available to purchase on FITE TV, but it can also be found on YouTube here. The tourney didn't feature many memorable matches, but it was well done on the whole and the final few matches were a treat. The main event in particular was fantastic and laid the groundwork for Jericho being involved with AEW once it officially launched a few months later.