Ring of Honor Review - January 18, 2017

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Donovan Dijak, Lio Rush and Jay White def. The Rebellion

The Rebellion's gimmick is slightly less stupid than what they were doing before, but I just find it extremely difficult to get invested in anything they're involved in. That said, each of them are excellent athletes and they produced a really nice opening match with Dijak, Rush and White here. Dijak's face turn has yet to be fully fleshed out, but his exciting in-ring arsenal and his aerial maneuvers speak for themselves. The heels maintained whatever heat they have with their post-match attack, but I'm left wondering what the endgame in all of this is.

Cody def. Steve Corino

Similar to The Young Bucks' promo last week addressing "Broken" Matt Hardy, Ring of Honor really should have followed up on Cody's hot heel turn from Final Battle much sooner than they did, but he cut a great promo before the bout ripping into the fans and turning them against him. I have been beyond disinterested in Corino's never-ending saga with Kevin Sullivan and BJ Whitmer, so I didn't understand the logic of him aligning with them, but at least they culminated the storyline once and for all with Corino now gone from the organization. This wasn't as good as I hoped it would be, but for what it was, I enjoyed it, and it was a fitting farewell for Corino as he and Cody paid tribute to Dusty Rhodes.

Jay Lethal def. Jushin "Thunder" Liger in a Decade of Excellence Tournament Round 1 Match

It's awesome that we have yet to see the end of the Cody and Lethal rivalry and it's merely just beginning. I feared they would quickly move on from their match at Final Battle, but they could have an even better bout at the 15th Anniversary Show next month. Speaking of which, I don't see Lethal winning this tournament simply because he has a program with Cody lined up at the moment, but this was a fun little match from him and Liger. I'm sure they could have ripped it up had they been given more time, but it was an entertaining main event that capped off the first round of the Decade of Excellence Tournament.

Overall Show

I really liked this edition of ROH TV on the whole as there seemed to be focus on the storylines more than usual. The opening six-man tag team match was very well-wrestled, Corino and Cody contested a decent match and Lethal and Liger made the most of the time they were allotted. Moreover, I was thrilled they took the time to hype up next week's show, which will feature Marty Scurll making an appearance and the first semifinal match in the tournament. No matches have been announced for ROH's next pay-per-view as of now, but ROH still has time to create a compelling card.