Ring of Honor Review - August 5, 2015

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

AJ Styles and Matt Jackson def. War Machine

I've been skeptical of the style The Young Bucks wrestle (all the superkicks, not enough selling, etc) in the past, but after having the pleasure of watching them compete live at an independent wrestling event this past weekend, I've come to enjoy their wrestling style and not think about the other aspects about it. You could have put any team in there with team and would have been equally entertaining, but War Machine held their own and put together a very fun match. I don't know which duo viewers were supposed to cheer/boo, but I will say that Nick Jackson feigning an injury only to help out his Bullet Club stablemates win in the end was pretty clever.


Cedric Alexander def. The Romantic Touch

Alexander, while I always enjoyed his athleticism, came across as bland to me when I first got into the product about a year ago, but this heel turn and alliance with Veda Scott has done a great deal in revitalizing his career. This was a simple squash for him that was also effective in furthering his feuds with former partner Caprice Coleman (who did well on commentary) and Moose.

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Adam Cole vs. Kyle O'Reilly Ended in a No Contest

The backstage interview with Cole that aired earlier in the show made this match feel much more meaningful than just a random main event as we've seen in recent weeks on ROH TV. The commentators touched upon their extensive history together throughout and it was a pretty good match up until the non-finish, which set up the subsequent tag team match. Additionally, they can always go back to this match down the line.


Adam Cole and Kyle O'Reilly def. ROH World Tag Team Champions The Addiction (Non-title)

Personally, I would have held off another week to deliver this match because a Future Shock reunion is a relatively big deal, but I can't ignore how entertaining this match was and how everyone involved put forth a strong effort. Cole, despite teetering the line between babyface and heel right now, had the crowd behind him and The Addiction were the perfect foils for him and O'Reilly. It also played very well into the "dissension" within The Kingdom and I'm curious as to whether we'll be seeing a tag team title match between these two duos in the near future or if it was just a one-off.


Overall Show

This had to be one of the most well-rounded editions of Ring of Honor TV in recent memory if not the best episode during the Destination America era. The biggest problem with the program has been not being up to date with the post-pay-per-view stuff, but they addressed that issue tonight with the pre-taped interviews that were in regards to the results of the recent Death Before Dishonor event. Not only that, but every match on this show served a purpose and featured fun in-ring action, so this certainly an episode I'd strongly recommend seeking out.