Ring of Honor Review - October 19, 2016

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

​The Bullet Club Addressed the Audience

This is really how The Bullet Club should have been portrayed since the start in Ring of Honor as the promotion's most dominant faction with all the gold. They currently hold the world and tag titles, so it may not be a stretch to say that Adam Page could be ROH World Television Champion before long (despite his recent loss to Kyle O'Reilly at All Star Extravaganza). ROH TV doesn't typically start with an in-ring promo, they're usually good about that, but this was a logical and necessary follow-up to the pay-per-view that established how many threats there currently are to The Bullet Club and specifically Cole and his title.


War Machine def. Keith Lee and Shane Taylor

I have been really digging this feud and the matches these two teams have been having. This was yet another awesome encounter with all four wrestlers pulling out all the stops and putting forth an excellent effort. Lee and Taylor continue to impress me with what they can do in the ring despite their large frames. The crowd ate up everything they did and I had no problem with War Machine winning considering they lost the first match in the program. Lee and Taylor attacking them afterward was a nice way of keeping the rivalry alive, and I'm highly anticipating some sort of hardcore rubber match soon.

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The Cabinet def. Leon St Giobanni, Jason Kincaid and Shaheem Ali in an ROH Six-Man Tag Team Championship Tournament Round 1 Match

As I've said several times before, The Cabinet does absolutely nothing for me. Caprice Coleman is a good talker but not a very exciting character, Rhett Titus just looks like a giant dummy, and Kenny King seems to have lost a step since his early days in TNA. I was actually pulling for their opponents to win here and I didn't know any of them besides Kincaid who has appeared on ROH TV before. It was a well-wrestled match, but Titus kicking out of whatever that triple team move was, only to then win was ridiculous as it ruined the spot.


Jay Lethal def. Silas Young

I was surprised this wasn't a full-fledged feud over the ROH World Championship during Lethal's title reign, but I guess both of them were heels at that point so it wouldn't have made sense. I've been a big proponent of Young's since I started watching ROH two years ago and he had a strong showing here against one of ROH's very best. It was an enjoyable match and while Young will be contending for the championship soon, he was protected in defeat with all the interference from Cole and O'Reilly at ringside.


​Overall Show

It was nice for ROH to be back to airing original programming after two weeks of Field of Honor matches. This was the post-pay-per-view episode I was hoping for with a tease of what's next for Cole and the rest of Bullet Club, plenty of exceptional wrestling, and another tournament match. ROH could do a better job with their storytelling for a few of their feuds, but the matches never cease to entertain me.