Ring of Honor Review - April 26, 2017

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Cody Interrupted ROH World Champion Christopher Daniels

This was a fantastic segment. I like how Daniels has been more of a serious competitor since capturing the ROH World Championship, and Cody continues to thrive as a heel. We all knew he had it in him from his WWE days (pre-Stardust, obviously), but he just keeps killing it every time he has a mic in his hands. His promo about not being a full-timer for ROH and how him winning the belt would be a disgrace to the title was brilliant. There's a pretty good chance Cody leaves War of the Worlds the new champion and I wouldn't be opposed to that happening at all.

Shane Taylor def. Lio Rush

As noted, I'm almost certain Rush officially left ROH weeks ago, so I'm actually shocked he wasn't straight-up squashed by Taylor here. They had a pretty competitive contest with Rush scoring an ample amount of offense, and as a result, it was a fun match. If this wasn't Rush's last televised matchup, I could see him teaming with The Motor City Machine Guns to take on The Rebellion on an upcoming episode, given that was what was teased afterward.

Josh Woods def. John Skyler to Win the 2017 Top Prospect Tournament

Considering that Woods and Skyler are basically unknowns at this point, I was impressed with how they were able to get the crowd engaged in the action. It was a very well-wrestled match and they did a nice job of picking up the pace down the stretch. I would have been fine with whoever won because both of them stars on the rise, but Woods has plenty of potential and I was happy he earned the contract. That said, he was totally overshadowed when he was laid out by David Starr, but thankfully, Starr is a hell of a talker and despite knowing nothing about him, I'm an instant fan of his.

ROH World Television Champion Marty Scurll def. Frankie Kazarian

While this wasn't among the strongest TV title defenses Scull has had in recent months, it was still entertaining enough and the storytelling in the the second half was great with Scurll doing everything he could to maintain his possession of the coveted prize. Scurll is just an exceptional performer and I honestly hope he holds onto that belt forever. ROH doesn't do much interference in their main events, so I was fine with Hangman Page costing Kazarian the championship considering their bad blood. Additionally, Matt Sydal returning to challenge Scurll for the title was awesome and I look forward to the incredible match they're bound to have.

Overall Show

I'm loving how the TV title has been taking center stage on ROH TV more often than not this year, and this main event was no different. It wasn't a barn-burner of a bout by any means, but it was an enjoyable match that furthered a few feuds. Plus, Sydal's comeback was cool. Not only that, but the opening segment was wonderful, Taylor vs. Rush was a treat and Woods and Skyler wrestled the best match of the Top Prospect Tournament, so this show gets two thumbs up from me.