Ring of Honor Review - August 8, 2018

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Chris Sabin def. Silas Young in a ROH World Television Championship No. 1 Contender's Match

I appreciate wrestlers earning their title shots, but is there no such thing as an automatic rematch clause for champions in Ring of Honor? Because I don't remember Young ever getting a rematch for the title after losing it back in June. Nevertheless, this was a well-wrestled match with good showings from both men. I'm glad Sabin is branching back out into singles competition now that his tag team partner Alex Shelley has retired from the ring. That wasn't confirmed here, but that news did come out weeks ago and should be brought up on TV soon.

Marty Scurll def. Shane "Hurricane" Helms

It's actually amazing when you think about how Helms has jumped around from IMPACT to WWE (if only for a one-off appearance in the Royal Rumble match) to now ROH in the last year alone, despite how long he has been wrestling for. I loved how they played up the classic hero vs. villain story and it ended up being a fun little matchup. They made the most of the time they had and the right man went over. Of course, in typical villain fashion, Scurll had to cheat to win, which I thought was a nice touch.

Los Ingobernables de Japon def. SoCal Uncensored and The Hung Bucks in a Three-Way Tag Team Match

As you would probably expect just by looking at the lineup for this match, it was completely crazy from start to finish, and I mean that in the best way possible. The action was incredibly exciting throughout and it never stopped with all nine competitors getting their time to shine at one point or another. SoCal Uncensored's feud with The Briscoes was furthered as well with the ROH World Tag Team Champions interfering at the end and costing them the victory. I've rarely seen LIJ win in ROH, so them reigning supreme for once was a refreshing change of pace, even though there was nothing on the line here so it likely won't mean anything in the long run.

Overall Show

This wrestling-heavy show was an enjoyable one with three matches that all held my interest and each of them having something different to offer. Sabin vs. Young established a new No. 1 contender to the ROH TV title, Scurll vs. Helms was a cool crowd-pleaser, and the main event was every bit as electric as it looked on paper. Plus, multiple matches were advertised for next week, so ROH is finally building momentum again after taking so long to give us fallout from Best in the World.