Ring of
Honor's annual Best in the World came to Baltimore last night in what
was one of the promotions weaker cards this year.
It was a
show in which I decided to pass on last night, and only got around to
watching today via some free website. I'm normally someone who
purchases ROH iPPVs, having done so since Death Before Dishonor VIII
in 2010. But having spent roughly €100
on PPVs from them since then (which I only noticed last week) I
decided to leave this one, which really, I didn’t feel was worth my
money going into it.
Anyway,
enough of me unintentional promotion of pirating shows from company's
that need the money – here's my review for Best in the World 2013.
BJ
Whitmer vs. Mike Bennett
Probably
not the best choice for an opener, because even the surprisingly loud
Baltimore crowd quickly went quiet throughout this match. I've never
been a fan of either guy to be honest. BJ Whitmer, ROH's version of
Drake Younger, hasn't really been able to get back to his best, while
the 'Prodigy' Mike Bennett just seems to be waiting for WWE to sign
him up already.
Honestly,
there wasn't a whole lot wrong with the match. There were some decent
moments throughout, and neither man exactly made any mistakes, but
overall there still wasn't a whole lot to get excited about it. 2/5
American
Wolves vs. Adrenaline Rush
An
extremely fun match here which really showcased Tadarius Thomas and
ACH especially as two bright prospects for Ring of Honor in the
future.
It
had a good mixture of the Wolves showing their experience against the
hungry opponents, while also showing moments of both teams being
evenly matched. It did have some weak moments here and there, most
noticeably coming from Tadarius, who I feel relies too much on his
unique kicks at times, but overall there was a lot to like about this
match. 3.5/5
Adam
Cole vs. Roderick Strong
A
real hit and miss match between Cole and Strong. I liked the chain
wrestling at the start, and there was some pretty exciting action
throughout, but the ending to the match just didn't work for me.
Simply
put, there's nothing wrong with leaving your opponent on the outside
and hoping for a count out victory. The way Cole dropped Strong and
went back into the ring with a menacing and opportunistic smile on
his face looked good, but the idea that such an act is considered
heel is just silly. They seem to be going from one extreme to another
with Cole's slow heel turn here.
Another
thing which I would have liked was a bit more focus on Cole's inured
elbow. It was highlighted at the start, and Roddy did go after it for
a few minutes, but it soon became nothing in regards to the match.
Granted, this gave way for a more back and forth match, which suited
the face vs. face dynamic quite well, but a bit more focus on that
injured elbow would have made the pacing a lot better. Both men are
capable of more. 2.5/5
Michael
Elgin vs. Tomasso Ciampa
A
great return match for Tomasso Ciampa here. It's been a while since
ROH have done a powerhouse vs. powerhouse match, the last I can
recall being between Elgin and Steen last year at Glory By Honor X,
and both guys here did an extremely good match at it here.
This
match had incredible feats of strength, back and forth action, and
high drama in the final few minutes of the match. It took a while for
Ciampa to finally show his full potential in ROH, but I think this
will be the match people will look back on when they think of how far
he's come. He stood toe-to-toe with arguably the most exciting
wrestler on the independent scene and helped put on a really
enjoyable match. I'm really looking forward to the rest of these
guys' stuff this year. 4/5
ROH
TV Championship
Matt
Taven vs. Jay Lethal vs. Jimmy Jacobs
So
much fun up until a certain point. A really good effort from all
three guys, who put on a fast paced match with some choice moments
throughout.
In
was only in the last few minutes when things started to go off. Jay
Lethal accidentally stripping one of the Hoopla's was pretty funny,
albeit not at all surprising considering some of the controversial
stuff that's happened in Taven's title defences. It was after that
which I had a problem with though. I may sound like a hypocrite here
after saying that I liked the stripping part, but Jay Superkicking
the other hoopla is just something I hate to see in wrestling, more
so when a face does it (Honor lives, eh?). I simply don't see how
that makes Lethal the good guy in this match, and because of that all
the hard work before that seems worthless.
It
was almost like Cole/Strong in that it was a match of two halves, and
the last few moments of this match just kind of ruined it for me. 2/5
ROH
World Tag Team Championship
reDRagon
vs. C&C Wrestle Factory vs. S.C.U.M.
Man,
ROH has some awful tag team names... anyway, onto the match, which
was actually as bad as the names of all three tag teams.
The
action at the start of the match was actually fine, but it never
fully got going. O'Reilly and Fish were the only team to show some
good stuff, and the other two were slowly getting into it (more so
C&C), but then it just ended. It wouldn't have been so bad if
that kick at the end of the match were a signature move of Fish, but
he does so many kicks in a match (as well as 70% of Indie wrestlers)
that fans have no reason to believe that it'll finish an opponent
off. Strange match. 1.5/5
Kevin
Steen vs. Matt Hardy
Definitely
Hardy's best match in ROH, and all thanks to Kevin Steen as well.
He's been the only person so far to help us hate S.C.U.M, and the
only person to look like he really wants to inflict punishment on
them. With only a little bit of hype in this feud between these two
men there was already a really good grudge-like feel to it.
The
match had some good hardcore moments throughout, and also told a good
story of each S.C.U.M member getting involved and Kevin Steen losing
through his own request for a No DQ match. Corino's group haven't
looked threatening a whole lot since forming, but they did here
thanks for Kevin Steen. 3.5/5
ROH
World Championship
Jay
Briscoe vs. Mark Briscoe
A
really enjoyable match which perfectly showcased the brother vs.
brother dynamic. The opening exchanges were really nice with both men
showing their knowledge of each other, and the pacing for the rest of
the match was pretty spot on.
I
didn't think the ending could have been better however, as Jay
Briscoe got back into the match far too easily. After all the work
Mark was doing on him I felt more could have been done for Jay's
comeback and eventual victory. Still though, this was an entertaining
main event which exceeded my expectations. 3.5/5
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