Ring of Honor Review - November 23, 2016

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

​Kyle O'Reilly def. Silas Young

It amazes me despite how many matches Young loses, he is still seen as a threat when in the ring against an established star. If not that, he can always be counted on for a quality performance regardless of who his opponent is. He's a very good wrestler, it's just a shame he doesn't have more credibility as a competitor. Nevertheless, this was an entertaining opening match and I liked Adam Cole on commentary for the brief period of time he was out there. Young berating the audience afterward, specifically singling out the dude dressed up as Jushin "Thunder" Liger, set up that match for Final Battle nicely.


Dalton Castle and Colt Cabana def. Preston Quinn and Ken Dixon

Well, this match didn't last long at all. It literally consisted of one or two moves, including Castle's finisher. Did they take a page out of WWE's book and repeat what they did with Brock Lesnar and Goldberg on Sunday night? In all seriousness, the bout was background to what then happened with Cabana parting ways with Castle before officially turning heel by attacking him. I would have liked to have seen them continue to team for a little while longer, but it was fun while it lasted, and I expect they'll have a match at Final Battle as well.

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The Kingdom def. Team CMLL in a ROH Six-Man Tag Team Championship Tournament Semifinal Match

This was probably the weakest of all the tournament matches so far because neither trio has really been properly introduced to viewers. The Kingdom had a big debut win over The Bullet Club and cut a few backstage promos, but that's about it. Worse yet, Team CMLL is simply a trio of good wrestlers with no personality. As such, although this match was well-wrestled, it was just kind of there, and you had to know The Kingdom was winning after beating Bullet Club in the first round.


Overall Show

There was a ton of build for Final Battle on his show, more than usual which was refreshing and encouraging to see. Several matches were all but confirmed for the card including Young vs. Liger, Jay Lethal vs. Cody Rhodes (!!), the finals of the Six-Man Tag Team Championship Tournament, and Castle vs. Cabana. The pay-per-view is looking incredibly strong on paper, so here's hoping it lives up to the hype.