Ring of Honor Review - December 20, 2017

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

The Addiction def. Coast to Coast

Coast to Coast have basically been an enhancement team since coming to ROH, so while the outcome was never in doubt, this was a fun little opening contest. Obviously, this was taped prior to Final Battle, but this was a nice momentum boost for The Addiction as they prepare to challenge for the ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Championship soon. As for Coast to Coast, I liked the little hook afterward that they have to win their next match or they'll go their separate ways. That's more intriguing than one guy turning on the other, which we always see in wrestling.

Shane Taylor def. Eli Isom

I'm not particularly sold on Taylor as of now, but he did have a fine showing in the ROH World Television Championship four-way elimination match at Final Battle and this was an effective squash for him that showcased his dominance. We got to know a little bit about his background and motivations not too long ago on Coleman's Pulpit, but he needs a real rivalry to get his singles run on the right track.

Caprice Coleman Hosted Coleman's Pulpit with Brandi Rhodes

I have praised the Pulpit in the past for giving wrestlers the chance to get their characters over when they don't have the opportunity to do so otherwise, but this was a pretty poor installment in my opinion. It simply felt like a promotional plug for WAGS: Atlanta, which will feature Brandi, and nothing more. None of the back-and-forth between these two was any good, but if nothing else, it did give some exposure to the Women of Honor ahead of the division getting their own championship soon.

ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Champions Bullet Club def. Best Friends and Rocky Romero

If you love Bullet Club/Young Bucks spot-fests, this was for you. If not and you think that their style of wrestling isn't wrestling, then you'll probably hate it. Personally, I found this to be a blast with all six stars working wonderfully together and putting together an entertaining train wreck. Plus, the crowd ate up everything they did and an appearance from Omega in ROH is always appreciated, so all things considered, this was an excellent main event.

Overall Show

Final Battle just happened on Friday night, so it will likely be another two weeks before we get any kind of fallout from the pay-per-view. Next week will feature a "Christmas Surprise" tag team match, a guilty pleasure of mine from two years ago. As for this edition of ROH TV, the main event is well worth going out of your way to check out and there was some storyline progression with Coast to Coast, but feel free to skip over Taylor's match and Coleman's Pulpit.