Ring of Honor Review - April 13, 2016

By Graham "GSM" Matthews
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ROH World Tag Team Champions War Machine def. Roppongi Vice

As I've discussed in the past, I haven't been high on War Machine being tag team champs in a division filled with teams that are ten times better in my opinion, but after not having that one match during their title reign that made me change my view on them, this was their breakout performance for me. Part of that can be attributed to the awesomeness that is Roppongi Vice, but War Machine deserves credit, too, for having a great showing. They worked very well together and their match kicked off the night on a high note. I didn't expect Roppongi Vice to take the titles, but they put up a good fight even in defeat.


ROH World Champion Jay Lethal and Donovan Dijak Brawled

The pairing of Prince Nana and Dijak confused me at first and it still confuses me because I fail to see the connection, and while Dijak's mic work is slightly shaky, I'm glad to see he's coming into his own as a singles star. Prince Nana can do the talking for him in the meantime, but do people associate him with greatness like they do Truth Martini? I enjoyed the brawl between Lethal and Dijak, but Lethal came off more like a face here than Dijak did. Maybe that was the intent, but I guess we'll soon see. By the way, I met Dijak at a Chaotic Wrestling event over the weekend (which you can see pictures of here) and he's a great guy. Really appreciative he gave me some of his time for an exclusive interview.

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Kenny Omega def. ACH

I've said it before and I'll say it again: Kenny Omega is an absolute star. The dude got his gimmick over using a broom! That's true talent. And the Ring of Honor faithful ate it up. This was a mismatch on paper given Omega's star status over in Japan, but the in-ring action was entertaining enough that it didn't matter in the slightest. Although Omega winning was predictable, they had me on the edge of my seat with all the suspenseful nearfalls, especially down the stretch, and I was happy the interference from The Young Bucks was kept limited. Had the night not ended with the Fight Without Honor, this would not have felt out of place in the main event slot.


Dalton Castle def. Silas Young in a Fight Without Honor

Although this feud lasted a lot longer than I probably would have liked, they blew it off in a major way with this matchup and they went all out with the weapons available to them. They certainly captured that big fight feel and both guys put forth an incredible effort. While it would have been nice if it was solely Castle and Young going at it, I didn't mind The Boys getting involved if only because they've been the focal point of the feud and there weren't any disqualifications, so it would have been illogical if they didn't. I'm looking forward to seeing where Castle and Young go from here now that their year-long program is over.


​Overall Show

This was among the tapings that featured appearances from the stars of New Japan Pro Wrestling (hence why Roppongi Vice and Omega were in action on this show), but to me, it was among the best editions of ROH TV in some time. The tag team title match was very fun, Lethal and Dijak furthered their feud in an effective manor, Omega and ACH contested a classic, and the main event was strong as well. An awesome mix of matches with storyline significance and straight-up exceptional wrestling. You'd be doing yourself a disservice by not checking this episode out.