Post by AdamAFL was sooooo wrong on Nov 20, 2016 19:28:01 GMT -5
Right, I'm back in the North East after a great weekend in the East Midlands - here's my thoughts on the Leicester show (spoilered for anyone who doesn't want to know the results):
{Spoiler}{Spoiler}The place was about 70-75% full, Cole & The Bucks were really cool, Briscoes are weirdly intense, Lethal came across as such a down to earth guy & Dalton Castle is permanently in character - which makes for some amazing stuff watching him interact with fans for autographs/pictures. I picked up a few shirts before the show began including a Marty Scurll one which according to the guys selling them was by far the most popular shirt at the show which is good to hear for Marty. We were front row & I expected the hard cam to be behind us (as in the camera to be shooting over the back of our heads into the ring) but they actually positioned it to our right looking directly at the entrance. There were some major lighting issues during the show which led to some 'Brexit' related jokes with Bobby Cruise who was sat right next to us. The crowd was sadly pretty muted for a lot of the show and there were a few drunk idiots making stupid comments (including the really annoying thing of counting 1 number ahead of the ref). Apart from them though, everyone seemed to have a really good time. Also, it may sound a bit weird to some people but I've been watching ROH since 2004 and I was so excited to finally be able to slap the sheet metal on the barriers which I've always thought created a really cool atmosphere. It was indeed very cool to finally be able to do that but after three hours your hands hurt so damn much it is not even funny. I had a three hour drive back home today and I was actually worried that my hand would still be hurting - thankfully it wasn't. Kevin Kelly & Steve Corino did commentary in a similar position in relation to the entrance area to that of RAW.
Joe Hendry vs. Jay White
Not a big Jay White fan so I was pulling for Joe Hendry in this one despite never seeing him before. Hendry's entrance is pretty cool and his work in the ring was solid, would not mind seeing more of him going forward. This was a decent match with White winning with the Kiwi Crusher. I'd never been front row for a show before and was worried I'd be able to hear a lot of spot calling which would take me out of the show - this was confirmed true in this match where you could hear almost every spot being called, thankfully I didn't hear a single spot called for the rest of the night.
Jay Lethal vs. Alex Shelley
Lethal came out to a big response. Shelley to a good but noticeably smaller one. Shelley worked heel in the match. There was a funny moment where Shelley blew his nose on Lethal, Lethal came back - knocked him down and then yelled at the referee "HE SPIT ON ME!" to which the ref replied "I KNOW! I TOLD HIM OFF!". Pretty good match which ended with Lethal hitting the Lethal Injection. He cut a promo after the match talking about how he was going to beat Cole for the title tomorrow night (which I guess is now tonight). He really loved the fact that we slapped the barriers in rhythym with his theme song which is weird because I told the guys I was with that it happens all the time and we should try to do it too.
Donovan Dijak vs. Lio Rush
The three people I went to the show with are all wrestling fans but none of them watch ROH so although they know some of the guys they had absolutely no idea who either of these two were. I'm a big fan of both so was bigging them both up and man did they deliver. This match was absolutely crazy awesome. Hard to describe it back to you guys but it featured multiple big dives, Dijak chokeslamming Rush from the top rope to the outside and so many other things. Crowd really got into Rush after a while. At one point Rush sent Dijak into the crowd (taking a couple of people out in the process) and Dijak just made it to the ring before the 20 count. Dijak also hit a second rope moonsault to the outside. Dijak eventually won with Feast Your Eyes which Rush sold like death and everyone popped huge for, I made a bit of a dick of myself by screaming Feast Your Eyes just as he was setting it up - hope it doesn't make it on to the DVD but I was so excited to see him hit it live I lost control of myself. They got a rousing ovation after the match and deservedly so.
reDRagon vs. Briscoes
I was super pumped to see reDRagon live who are one of my favourite tag teams of all-time. This was a really good tag match but for some reason the crowd wasn't into it which hurt the match a little. Bobby Fish is absolutely hilarious both in the ring and on the apron. Eventually The Bucks came out providing a bit of a distraction which at one point saw Nick get up on the apron when Mark was going for Froggy Bow and try to get a Too Sweet. The distraction allowed the knees to come up when Mark went for Froggy Bow, Chasing The Dragon followed and reDRagon picked up the win.
There was a brief intermission and as I went out for a cigarette there were a few people who were attracting attention in the lobby, I can't be sure but I think one of them was Christian Fuchs (Leicester City left-back).
When we came back from intermission Nigel came out to cut a promo, this was something I was really looking forward to because ROH in general and Nigel as a focal point kept me watching wrestling in the mid-2000's when I'd given up on WWE and was flitting in and out of TNA. So I went nuts for him, the camera closed in on me and a mate during his entrance because we were chanting pretty loud for him & I was wearing one of Nigel's shirts so if anyone watches the VOD/DVD I'm the guy chanting for Nigel who looks really awkward and then slowly turns as red as a tomato because I got embarassed. He cut a nice promo about the fans, the wrestlers and the company. One of the aforementioned drunk idiots made some dumb comment about TNA which led to Nigel shutting him down brutally which got a great reaction.
The Addiction vs. Castle/Delirious
I seriously cannot do this match justice, one of the funniest things I've ever seen. Great reactions for everyone - particularly Daniels & Castle. Addiction referenced Kamaitachi going back to Japan and said they were looking for the fiery young babyface to take his place and they'd found that man in Delirious. They had a sweetner - a pair of shoes. Delirious spoke some gibberish which Daniels translated because he is "fluent in Delirious". Castle eventually broke it down saying Addiction were trying to weasel out of the match. There were some "Hey, Hey, Dalton, ooo, aaa, I wanna know if you'll be my boy". Not Bayley level but still to a certain level which was great as I didn't think it would catch on given how many butch looking blokes were in the crowd - just goes to show don't judge a book by its cover. Once the match got going it was some great comedy which included Dalton tricking Todd Sinclair into hiptossing both members of The Addiction which further led to Dalton becoming referee and Todd facing off with Kaz. Todd got the better of him until Sinclair eventually realised what he was doing and went back to being referee. There was plenty of more great stuff in here but I honestly can't remember any of it. I do remember my facial muscles hurting from all the smiling and laughing I was doing though. The Addiction finally won, pinning Delirious after a Best Meltzer Ever which is crazy to watch live and the crowd popped huge for. Post-match Kaz got on the mic and screamed at Todd Sinclair saying that he was in trouble because at 'Mania Weekend it was going to be Frankie Kazarian vs. Todd Sinclair which elicited a "Todd's gonna kill you" chant.
Adam Cole vs. Chris Sabin
Cole was really over but is such a good heel that he turned the crowd against him pretty easily. He geed up the crowd to see which side he should throw his shirt into, he then dropped it as he threw it (deliberately of course) and mocked the crowd. Sabin picked the shirt up though and threw it in. Cole was furious and demanded the crowd give it back, it was a kid who had caught it and when he wouldn't throw it back Cole told him "I hope you get no presents" which led to a Santa Claus chant led by Sabin. Cole mocked us for saying "BAYBAY" along with him and then booing him. This was a pretty good match which Cole won with the Brainbuster on the Knee. After the match Cole said he wasn't done proving he was the best wrestler in the world and said that if Lethal was man enough how about they move their match up a night and do the World Title match right here, right now. Lethal came out and Cole bailed. This may have been where Lethal cut his promo that I put in the detail of his match with Shelley or he may have cut a different promo here, I can't remember.
The Young Bucks vs. Scurll/Ospreay
Another match I can't do justice, it was very spotty but it was basically a pitch perfect PWG main event and the crowd responded in kind, it wasn't quite Reseda level but it was certainly the loudest it had been all night. The Bucks decided to make it a World Tag Title match and Nigel approved it. Ospreay is an incredible talent, at one point he did a Ricochet-esque dive from the ring over the top of the turbuckle to the outside. Scurll is so awesome and I could physically hear the cringe in the crowd when he did his finger breaking move (he did it on both Bucks at the same time). A ton of near falls as you would expect and (even though I knew it wouldn't happen) I was so lost in the action I actually bought the title change a few times. Eventually there was a ref bump and Scurll went to use his umbrella on The Bucks but Ospreay wouldn't let him, after much encouragement from the crowd Ospreay went to use the umbrella himself but The Bucks ducked and Ospreay took out Scurll. Finally (as you'll have seen if you watched the video/gif someone posted in the thread earlier), The Bucks were setting up for a Meltzer Driver but Ospreay cut it off with a top rope hurricanrana which sent the Jackson brother in question into the Meltzer Driver anyway. That got the win. Post-match The Briscoes came out and basically told The Bucks they'd see them at Final Battle. Jay put both Ospreay and Scurll over and then left the ring. Scurll cut a promo basically blaming Ospreay for the loss and said that they hated each other. He noted that they were facing each other tomorrow night and Ospreay should put the title on the line. Nigel made it official after encouragement from the crowd. Bobby Cruise thanked us all for coming and this concluded the show.
I've been down at times on ROH this year, especially after arguably their strongest year since the Gabe-era in 2015, but this was a really fun show. All three people I was with loved the show and one actually said he was going to order Final Battle after seeing the show so well done ROH, you earned yourself at least one extra PPV buy after this show.
On a personal note as we were leaving I got to meet one of my heroes in Nigel McGuinness, it was truly amazing to meet him, he was very cool and took a picture with me in the corridor. I told him how much we miss him and he seemed genuinely touched that I said that. So yeah, thoroughly enjoyable night.
Joe Hendry vs. Jay White
Not a big Jay White fan so I was pulling for Joe Hendry in this one despite never seeing him before. Hendry's entrance is pretty cool and his work in the ring was solid, would not mind seeing more of him going forward. This was a decent match with White winning with the Kiwi Crusher. I'd never been front row for a show before and was worried I'd be able to hear a lot of spot calling which would take me out of the show - this was confirmed true in this match where you could hear almost every spot being called, thankfully I didn't hear a single spot called for the rest of the night.
Jay Lethal vs. Alex Shelley
Lethal came out to a big response. Shelley to a good but noticeably smaller one. Shelley worked heel in the match. There was a funny moment where Shelley blew his nose on Lethal, Lethal came back - knocked him down and then yelled at the referee "HE SPIT ON ME!" to which the ref replied "I KNOW! I TOLD HIM OFF!". Pretty good match which ended with Lethal hitting the Lethal Injection. He cut a promo after the match talking about how he was going to beat Cole for the title tomorrow night (which I guess is now tonight). He really loved the fact that we slapped the barriers in rhythym with his theme song which is weird because I told the guys I was with that it happens all the time and we should try to do it too.
Donovan Dijak vs. Lio Rush
The three people I went to the show with are all wrestling fans but none of them watch ROH so although they know some of the guys they had absolutely no idea who either of these two were. I'm a big fan of both so was bigging them both up and man did they deliver. This match was absolutely crazy awesome. Hard to describe it back to you guys but it featured multiple big dives, Dijak chokeslamming Rush from the top rope to the outside and so many other things. Crowd really got into Rush after a while. At one point Rush sent Dijak into the crowd (taking a couple of people out in the process) and Dijak just made it to the ring before the 20 count. Dijak also hit a second rope moonsault to the outside. Dijak eventually won with Feast Your Eyes which Rush sold like death and everyone popped huge for, I made a bit of a dick of myself by screaming Feast Your Eyes just as he was setting it up - hope it doesn't make it on to the DVD but I was so excited to see him hit it live I lost control of myself. They got a rousing ovation after the match and deservedly so.
reDRagon vs. Briscoes
I was super pumped to see reDRagon live who are one of my favourite tag teams of all-time. This was a really good tag match but for some reason the crowd wasn't into it which hurt the match a little. Bobby Fish is absolutely hilarious both in the ring and on the apron. Eventually The Bucks came out providing a bit of a distraction which at one point saw Nick get up on the apron when Mark was going for Froggy Bow and try to get a Too Sweet. The distraction allowed the knees to come up when Mark went for Froggy Bow, Chasing The Dragon followed and reDRagon picked up the win.
There was a brief intermission and as I went out for a cigarette there were a few people who were attracting attention in the lobby, I can't be sure but I think one of them was Christian Fuchs (Leicester City left-back).
When we came back from intermission Nigel came out to cut a promo, this was something I was really looking forward to because ROH in general and Nigel as a focal point kept me watching wrestling in the mid-2000's when I'd given up on WWE and was flitting in and out of TNA. So I went nuts for him, the camera closed in on me and a mate during his entrance because we were chanting pretty loud for him & I was wearing one of Nigel's shirts so if anyone watches the VOD/DVD I'm the guy chanting for Nigel who looks really awkward and then slowly turns as red as a tomato because I got embarassed. He cut a nice promo about the fans, the wrestlers and the company. One of the aforementioned drunk idiots made some dumb comment about TNA which led to Nigel shutting him down brutally which got a great reaction.
The Addiction vs. Castle/Delirious
I seriously cannot do this match justice, one of the funniest things I've ever seen. Great reactions for everyone - particularly Daniels & Castle. Addiction referenced Kamaitachi going back to Japan and said they were looking for the fiery young babyface to take his place and they'd found that man in Delirious. They had a sweetner - a pair of shoes. Delirious spoke some gibberish which Daniels translated because he is "fluent in Delirious". Castle eventually broke it down saying Addiction were trying to weasel out of the match. There were some "Hey, Hey, Dalton, ooo, aaa, I wanna know if you'll be my boy". Not Bayley level but still to a certain level which was great as I didn't think it would catch on given how many butch looking blokes were in the crowd - just goes to show don't judge a book by its cover. Once the match got going it was some great comedy which included Dalton tricking Todd Sinclair into hiptossing both members of The Addiction which further led to Dalton becoming referee and Todd facing off with Kaz. Todd got the better of him until Sinclair eventually realised what he was doing and went back to being referee. There was plenty of more great stuff in here but I honestly can't remember any of it. I do remember my facial muscles hurting from all the smiling and laughing I was doing though. The Addiction finally won, pinning Delirious after a Best Meltzer Ever which is crazy to watch live and the crowd popped huge for. Post-match Kaz got on the mic and screamed at Todd Sinclair saying that he was in trouble because at 'Mania Weekend it was going to be Frankie Kazarian vs. Todd Sinclair which elicited a "Todd's gonna kill you" chant.
Adam Cole vs. Chris Sabin
Cole was really over but is such a good heel that he turned the crowd against him pretty easily. He geed up the crowd to see which side he should throw his shirt into, he then dropped it as he threw it (deliberately of course) and mocked the crowd. Sabin picked the shirt up though and threw it in. Cole was furious and demanded the crowd give it back, it was a kid who had caught it and when he wouldn't throw it back Cole told him "I hope you get no presents" which led to a Santa Claus chant led by Sabin. Cole mocked us for saying "BAYBAY" along with him and then booing him. This was a pretty good match which Cole won with the Brainbuster on the Knee. After the match Cole said he wasn't done proving he was the best wrestler in the world and said that if Lethal was man enough how about they move their match up a night and do the World Title match right here, right now. Lethal came out and Cole bailed. This may have been where Lethal cut his promo that I put in the detail of his match with Shelley or he may have cut a different promo here, I can't remember.
The Young Bucks vs. Scurll/Ospreay
Another match I can't do justice, it was very spotty but it was basically a pitch perfect PWG main event and the crowd responded in kind, it wasn't quite Reseda level but it was certainly the loudest it had been all night. The Bucks decided to make it a World Tag Title match and Nigel approved it. Ospreay is an incredible talent, at one point he did a Ricochet-esque dive from the ring over the top of the turbuckle to the outside. Scurll is so awesome and I could physically hear the cringe in the crowd when he did his finger breaking move (he did it on both Bucks at the same time). A ton of near falls as you would expect and (even though I knew it wouldn't happen) I was so lost in the action I actually bought the title change a few times. Eventually there was a ref bump and Scurll went to use his umbrella on The Bucks but Ospreay wouldn't let him, after much encouragement from the crowd Ospreay went to use the umbrella himself but The Bucks ducked and Ospreay took out Scurll. Finally (as you'll have seen if you watched the video/gif someone posted in the thread earlier), The Bucks were setting up for a Meltzer Driver but Ospreay cut it off with a top rope hurricanrana which sent the Jackson brother in question into the Meltzer Driver anyway. That got the win. Post-match The Briscoes came out and basically told The Bucks they'd see them at Final Battle. Jay put both Ospreay and Scurll over and then left the ring. Scurll cut a promo basically blaming Ospreay for the loss and said that they hated each other. He noted that they were facing each other tomorrow night and Ospreay should put the title on the line. Nigel made it official after encouragement from the crowd. Bobby Cruise thanked us all for coming and this concluded the show.
I've been down at times on ROH this year, especially after arguably their strongest year since the Gabe-era in 2015, but this was a really fun show. All three people I was with loved the show and one actually said he was going to order Final Battle after seeing the show so well done ROH, you earned yourself at least one extra PPV buy after this show.
On a personal note as we were leaving I got to meet one of my heroes in Nigel McGuinness, it was truly amazing to meet him, he was very cool and took a picture with me in the corridor. I told him how much we miss him and he seemed genuinely touched that I said that. So yeah, thoroughly enjoyable night.