ROH World Champion Dalton Castle teams with Volador Jr. to take on Jay Lethal and Ultimo Guerrero. Flip Gordon takes on Cody in a singles match where if he wins then he’s booked on #AllIn. Plus, the Bullet Club battles the Kingdom & Shane Taylor in an Ultimate Mayhem match.
Ring of Honor presents Manhattan Mayhem VII
Date: 3/3/2018
From: New York, NY
There has been some changes to the show due to the poor weather in recent days. The weather prevented several talents from being able to make the show. Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian and Scorpio Sky weren’t able to make it and thus the main event has been changed a bit. Also, one-half of the ROH Tag Team Champions, Alex Shelley was unable to make the show.
Opening Contest: The Dawgs (Rhett Titus & Will Ferrera) vs. Coast 2 Coast (LSG & Ali) vs. The Briscoe Brothers (Mark & Jay): Briscoe Brothers go right after both teams as soon as they enter the ring. Jay is working over LSG with a chain in the corner. Jay gets a two count on LSG following a forearm strike. Titus tags himself in slapping Jay’s back and he says Ferrera did it. Jay flips Ferrera into the ring and shoves his own partner down. Titus catapults Ferrera to splash LSG and hits a splash of his own for a two count. Ali tags in and drops Titus with Complete Shot for a two count. Jay prevents Ali from diving to the floor and clotheslines LSG. Ali gets worked over by the Briscoe Brothers with stomps. Titus is worked over as well by the Briscoe Brothers. Mark chops away on Ali in the corner. Ali doesn’t back down from Mark and delivers several strikes. Mark takes Ali over with a side Russian leg sweep and puts a choke on Ali. LSG gets involved to breakup the submission attempt. Jay boots Ali in the corner and tosses his shirt at LSG. Jay works over Ali with uppercuts in the corner and Mark tags back in to shoulder block Ali with his brother. Titus continues to beat on Ali in the corner before tagging in Ferrera to double team Ali. Ferrera hits the post on a third shoulder strike attempt on Ali. Titus powerslams Ali and slams Ferrera on top for a two count.
Ali is able to tag in LSG and LSG clotheslines Ferrera. LSG connects with a handspring clothesline and a springboard forearm strike for a two count. LSG sends Titus to the floor and ducks Jay’s offense to drop Jay to the mat with Ali. Mark is caught and slammed down, too. Ali and LSG splash Ferrera in the corner but Jay boots LSG off the apron. Ferrera is met with boots from the Briscoe Brothers. Ferrera avoids a powerbomb from Mark and Titus dropkicks Mark into a corner. Jay pulls Titus to the floor and Coast 2 Coast hit their corner strike on Mark. Ferrera nearly pins LSG with a rollup. Jay tags in as the Dawgs hit a frog splash on LSG but he’s not legal. Briscoe’s run over them with clotheslines. Jay spikes Ferrera with a Jay Driller for the win. (**. There were a few bright moments, but overall this just didn’t hold my interest too much nor was I entertained that much, either. Briscoe Brothers are trying to come across like badass heels, and on some level it is working. However, they are just played out in the tag division and I’m really hoping they don’t win the titles.) After the match, Jay Briscoe says they don’t need the fans and they will be winning the ROH Tag Team Championships and nobody can stop them.
Second Contest: Sumie Sakai & Jenny Rose vs. Tenille Dashwood & Deonna Purrazzo: I still don’t know why everyone is excited about Dashwood considering he wasn’t very popular when she was in the WWE where she was known as Emma. Purrazzo and Rose kick off the tag match. They both go for rollups early on only managing near falls. Sakai tags in and wants a piece of Dashwood, who tags in. Sakai strikes Dashwood to the mat, but Tenille gets up and gets in her face. Dashwood delivers a couple of clotheslines to keep control of the match. Dashwood tosses Sakai across the ring and connects with a running crossbody in the corner. Purrazzo and Dashwood hit side Russian leg sweeps. They both lock in arm bars, but neither woman gets a submission. Purrazzo legally tags in and works over Sakai in the corner until Saki takes Purrazzo over with a head scissors. Purrazzo tosses Sakai with a wheelbarrow suplex. Rose kicks Purrazzo from the apron and Sakai delivers a strike to allow Rose to keep control of the match. Rose gets a two count following a snap suplex. Rose tries for a submission with a bow and arrow but Purrazzo doesn’t give in. Purrazzo continues to be worked over with a double clothesline. Sakai heads to the top and hits a missile dropkick for a two count. Sakai gets caught coming off the top and Purrazzo puts an arm bar on Sakai. Rose gets in the ring to make the save. Purrazzo avoids a double team and clotheslines both women. Dashwood gets the hot tag and she cleans house with clotheslines. Dashwood drives Sakai face first into the corner several times. Dashwood puts a Tarantula on Sakai in the ropes. Dashwood nearly wins with a double under hook suplex. Rose hits a fisherman suplex. Sakai drops Purrazzo with a suplex. Sakai hits a swinging neckbreaker for a two count. Sakai goes to the top rope but misses a moonsault. Dashwood comes off the ropes to hit the Spotlight and pins Sakai. (**1/4. A fine women’s match as they kept a good pace and I wasn’t overly bored with the action or anything. Dashwood did well in there and she might be able to showcase more of her ability. Once she impresses in that regard then I’ll understand why fans are so excited about her appearing.) After the match, the women embrace to show respect for each other.
Third Contest: Punishment Martinez vs. Soberano Jr.: Martinez doesn’t look very interested in shaking hands and doesn’t do it. Soberano impresses the live crowd with a somersault to avoid Martinez. Martinez goes over the top to the floor and Soberano attempts a suicide dive but is caught. Soberano attempts a moonsault off the top but Martinez shoves him away. Martinez tosses Soberano into the guard railing back first. Martinez splashes Soberano in the corner followed by a powerslam for a two count. Soberano chops Martinez and doesn’t make much progress. Martinez avoids a Pele kick and the fans are tearing into Soberano for botching so many moves thus far. Soberano head scissors Martinez who gets caught in the ropes. Soberano superkicks Martinez to the floor and hits a twisting dive, but Martinez doesn’t fall down. Soberano does the dive a second time and that knocks Martinez down. Soberano goes to the top and hits a twisting crossbody for a two count. Soberano counters a powerbomb with a rollup for a two count. Martinez knee lifts Soberano into a corner and delivers a spinning kick in the corner. Soberano is able to moonsault Martinez over the middle rope for a near fall. Soberano kicks Martinez from the apron but gets caught on a springboard attempt. Martinez hits a chokeslam back into the ring and wins the match. (*1/2. That was rough likely to Soberano coming straight from a car due to poor traveling. They tried, but I’d like to see Soberano Jr. when he has better time to prepare for a match. I really enjoy Martinez.) After the match, Martinez powerbombs Soberano onto the apron much to the crowds delight.
They are apparently going to do a Q&A segment. Jonathan Gresham is brought out for the segment. Gresham has a knee injury, apparently. Gresham had recently competed on a CZW show so that’s not very accurate that he’s been held out. This segment is truly awful. It’s awkward and fans clearly don’t care about Gresham. The fans are ripping on the questions because they are so basic and uninteresting. That was one of the worst things I’ve ever watched. They interviewed Gresham of all people. Such basic questions that it felt like it was staged horribly.
If Flip Gordon wins the next match against Cody, then he’ll be booked for the #AllIn event in September. Prior to the match, Cody cuts a promo suggesting the fans are Team Kenny. Cody says the fans would cheer for Gordon and cheer for Kenny Omega to ruin the match. Cody says they are leaving the match.
Fourth Contest: Flip Gordon vs. Cody: Flip actually blows a kiss at Brandi and Cody isn’t happy about it. It’s been almost three minutes and they haven’t done much of anything. Flip gets in Cody’s face after a shoulder block. Gordon dropkicks Cody coming off the ropes and Cody bails to the floor to regroup. Cody spits water into the face of a fan at front row. Flip fakes out a dive and blows another kiss at Barry the Bear. Apparently, the first kiss was directed towards the bear, too. Cody backs Gordon into a corner and delivers a knee lift to gain control of the match. Gordon chops Cody a few times and they trade blows in the corner. Gordon kicks Cody and hits a standing moonsault for a two count. Cody rolls to the floor again to regroup. Cody stops Gordon with a boot on the floor but Gordon sends Cody into the guard railing. Gordon collides with Brandi and she falls down. Brandi fakes it and holds Gordon to allow Cody to deliver a cheap shot. They fake out the front row with a high five, too. Cody rolls Gordon into the ring and continues to beat on Flip with stomps. Cody drops Gordon with a front slam for a two count. Cody stomps away on Flip to keep control of the match. Flip shoulders Cody from the apron but gets shoved off the apron and hits the guard railing.
Cody comes off the ropes and takes Gordon out with a suicide dive on the floor. Cody embraces with Barry. Gordon delivers a 619 on the apron and superkicks Barry! Gordon takes Cody out with a somersault dive over the top to the floor! Flip hits a springboard Slingblade. Gordon goes to the top but Cody cuts him off with a superplex attempt. Gordon is able to block the move and Gordon crotches Cody on the middle rope followed by a superkick to the back of Cody. Gordon nearly pins Cody with a twisting slam. Cody locks in the American Death Lock and has it far enough away from the ropes. Gordon is able to reach the bottom rope to break the hold. Flip grabs a water and spits water into Cody’s face. Gordon hits Samoan Pop and a standing shooting star press for a two count. Flip hammers away on Cody in the corner but Cody eye rakes Flip and hits a top rope moonsault for a two count.
Flip fights back with strikes as they begin to trade forearms strikes. They chop each other several times until Cody drops down to deliver a throat thrust. Cody plants Gordon with Crossroads but doesn’t go for the cover. Cody signals for a 450 splash? Cody misses a top rope moonsault and Flip heads to the top managing to hit a 450 splash but Cody kicks out at two. Flip puts Cody on the top turnbuckle and delivers a strike. Flip kicks Cody off and goes to the apron. Brandi gets on the apron to distract Gordon. Cody accidentally hits Brandi with the Disaster Kick and Cody is shocked. Flip and Cody are yelling at each other and Cody decides to take advantage by hitting Crossroads a second time for the win. (**1/2. Once they got past the three minutes of stalling, this turned into a fine match. I understand that Cody is involved in a major angle with Omega, but this felt like a good time to give Flip a big victory and get him on the All-In show. I understand the reasoning of putting Cody over, but I think I would have put Flip over here.) After the match, Cody doesn’t seem to be all that worried about Brandi and is happy he won the match.
They have an intermission at this point. Samoa Joe vs. Bryan Danielson from the first anniversary show in 2003 is shown during this time.
Caprice Coleman is out to host his talk show segment. Apparently, a lot of people were voting for Gary Jester. It’s Coleman’s Pulpit. Is he supposed to be similar to the Slick character from the 80s/90s? Colt Cabana won the vote, but the Kingdom comes out and Matt Taven considers this to be a conspiracy. Matt Taven is pissed about how they weren’t even advertised to be on the show. They talk about SoCal Uncensored not being able to make the show. The Kingdom will now be taking their place in the main event.
They try to tease if Chuck Taylor found a partner to replace Trent. That would be effective if they didn’t show the match graphic showing that Cheeseburger was involved in the match now.
Fifth Contest: ROH Television Champion Kenny King, Cheeseburger & Chuck Taylor vs. Silas Young, Beer City Bruiser & Brian Milonas: I can honestly say I don’t have much interest in this match. Taylor and Bruiser start the match where Bruiser shows his strength by shoulder blocking Taylor early on. Taylor fights back with a dropkick but is ran over by Bruiser again. Cheeseburger tags in and wants a piece of Milonas. Milonas is rather dismissive of Cheeseburger but misses a splash in the corner. Cheeseburger chops Milonas several times but that doesn’t work very well for him. Cheeseburger kicks Milonas on the knee and comes off the ropes with another strike. Milonas casually clotheslines Cheeseburger and King tags in. Silas Young tags in as well. King nearly wins with a rollup and attempts an overhead suplex but Young avoids it. Young hits a rolling fireman’s carry but King punches Young upside down. Young counters the Royal Flush but runs into a heel kick. That leads to all six men brawling both in and out of the ring.
Bruiser misses a splash and hits the railing as Cheeseburger jumped out of the way. King tags in Cheeseburger and Taylor forearms Young. Cheeseburger plants Young with a tornado DDT for a two count. Taylor, King and Cheeseburger embrace in the middle of the ring with a hug. Cheeseburger misses a top rope knee strike and is splashed by both Milonas and Bruiser. Milonas tosses Cheeseburger with an overhead suplex. Cheeseburger continues to be worked over in his opponents corner. Bruiser hits a running crossbody on Cheeseburger and Milonas hits a senton splash. Young goes for the pin attempt but Cheeseburger kicks out at two. Cheeseburger tries to fight off the bigger opponents and that doesn’t work as Milonas plants Cheeseburger with a sit down powerbomb for a near fall. Milonas sits down on Cheeseburger several times in the corner. Bruiser misses a somersault splash in the corner. Cheeseburger kicks Young away and avoids Milonas. King gets the hot tag and cleans house on Young with a clothesline and strikes. King delivers a kick to stop Young but here comes Bruiser. King atomic drops Bruiser followed by a kick to send him to the floor. Young connects with a backbreaker but King is able to plant Young with a spinebuster for a near fall.
Milonas sends King over the top to the floor but Taylor tagged in. Taylor and Young trade strikes. Taylor hits a sit down powerbomb on Young for a two count. Taylor comes off the top and lands on his feet after an attempted moonsault. Taylor drives Young down with a Cradle Shock, but Bruiser breaks up the cover. Taylor knees Bruiser in the corner and Young takes everyone out with a dive. Cheeseburger tagged into the match as Taylor is sent into the railing. Cheeseburger is punched on a suicide dive attempt but King takes Young out with a twisting dive to the floor. Young and King brawl towards the backstage area. Cheeseburger avoids a double splash and slaps Bruiser. Miloas is met with a superkick and Milonas avoids a strike. Milonas puts Cheeseburger on the top turnbuckle. Milonas hits a superplex and Bruiser hits a frog splash for the win. (**. Again, I didn’t really care about what they were doing and I’m not sure if I’m a fan of the Milonas/Bruiser team. I think it is time to focus on a new feud for the ROH TV Championship at this point, though.)
Sixth Contest: ROH World Champion Dalton Castle & Volador Jr. vs. Jay Lethal & Ultimo Guerrero: Before the match even starts, Guerrero slaps Castle with his ring jacket. Lethal and Castle kickoff the tag team match. They will meet next weekend on PPV for the title. They do a test of strength to start the action with Castle switching to a headlock. Castle shoulder blocks Lethal and runs the ropes. Lethal gets a two count on a rollup and tries for the Lethal Injection, but Castle is able to avoid it and bails to the floor. Castle gets fanned down by his Boys. Castle takes Lethal down to the mat and controls Lethal’s legs for a moment. Lethal shoulder blocks Castle and attempts a dropkick after a hip toss, but Castle avoids it. Lethal crawls to the ropes to avoid a German suplex attempt. Guerrero and Volador get tagged in to continue the action. Guerrero knocks one of the Boys down as Volador was getting fanned down and Castle is pissed. Guerrero takes Volador down to the mat but is met with an arm drag and they have a standoff. They continue with some mat wrestling until Volador hits a head scissors and gets a near fall on Guerrero before getting another standoff. Guerrero clotheslines Volador in the corner and Lethal gets tagged in.
Lethal hits his hip toss/dropkick combo on Volador for a two count. Guerrero dropkicks Volador and finally leaves the ring in an awkward moment. Lethal back elbows Volador for a two count. Guerrero seems to want to be in there constantly as he tags in and misses a knee strike going over the top to the floor. Volador hits a hurricanrana on Lethal and Castle gets tagged in. Castle forearms Lethal in the corner and Lethal is sent face first into the top turnbuckle. Volador kicks Lethal from the apron and comes off the top with a splash for a two count. Volador continues to work over Lethal with a stomp. Castle sends Lethal into the corner and delivers a running knee strike. Castle tosses Lethal over with a suplex for a two count. Lethal and Castle trade strikes until Volador gets tagged in. Lethal boots him in the corner but misses a middle rope dropkick. Lethal drops Volador with a kick to the head. Guerrero gets tagged in and he cleans house with a double clothesline. Guerrero backdrops Castle to the apron and dropkicks Castle off the apron. Guerrero catches Volador on a somersault splash and powerbombs him on the floor!
Lethal takes all three men out with a suicide dive to the floor! Guerrero drops Castle gut first over Lethal’s knees for a two count. Lethal goes to the top rope as Guerrero slams Castle but Volador knocks Lethal to the floor. Castle knee lifts Guerrero and Volador superkicks Guerrero. Guerrero hits a Guerrero Special off the middle rope on Volador. Castle tosses Lethal and nearly pins Guerrero with a stalling German suplex. Lethal tosses Volador into the crowd after he tagged into the match. Lethal gets in Castle’s face and slaps the champion. They begin to trade strikes in the middle of the ring. Lethal boots Castle and kicks Volador in the midsection. Volador counters with the Lethal Injection with a superkick. Guerrero clotheslines Volador but is knocked down by Castle. Castle puts Guerrero on the top as does Volador to Lethal. Guerrero hits a middle rope powerbomb on Castle! Guerrero accidentally clotheslines Lethal and Volador hits a top rope hurricanrana for the win on Guerrero. (***1/4. Well, as soon as Guerrero powerbombed Volador on the floor the match picked up and was a fun match. A good showing by the CMLL guys here and I liked that neither Castle or Lethal were involved in the finish. It allows them to both remain strong heading into the PPV. I’d like to see Volador and Guerrero return to ROH again. They were a lot of fun.) After the match, Guerrero tried to steal the ROH World Championship, but Lethal grabs the belt and has a stare down with Castle before handing it over. They will meet March 9th on PPV.
We are told the rules for the main event. Ultimate Mayhem is essentially a War Games match but it doesn’t have the cage. There is no rules.
Main Event: Bullet Club (Young Bucks, Marty Scurll & Adam Page) vs. The Kingdom (Matt Taven, TK O’Ryan & Vinny Marsgelia) & Shane Taylor in an Ultimate Mayhem Match: The first two guys involved in the match are Matt Taven and Marty Scurll. Taven goes after Scurll with strikes in the corner to start the main event. Scurll works over Taven with strikes across the ring and delivers a dropkick to a seated Taven. Scurll kicks the guard railing into Taven’s arm and then sends Taven into the guard railing. Taven jabs Scurll in the midsection the chair and delivers an overhand strike. Taven Taven continues with a backbreaker and nails Scurll with a running knee strike. Taven attempts a springboard moonsault but Scurll gets his knees up. Scurll knee strikes Taven to keep control of the match. Taven drives Scurll down with a vertical suplex and heads to the top rope. Taven gets kicked by Scurll and Marty hooks Taven up with a superplex managing to hit the move. Scurll stomps on Taven’s elbow and goes to the floor to grab a steel chair. Scurll puts Taven’s arm in the chair and stomps the chair. Scurll uppercuts Taven a few times but Taven sends Scurll head first into a steel chair in the corner. Taven tosses a chair into Scurll’s face as the next entrant comes out.
Vinny Marseglia is the next entrant, as per usual, the heels have the advantage. Vinny tosses Scurll into the corner and delivers a few forearm shots. Taven is actually posing over Scurll knowing that he can’t win the match. Scurll is sat on the top turnbuckle and Vinny puts Scurll on his back allowing Taven to hit a running kick. They are playing to the camera. Scurll throws streamers at the Kingdom to get control of the match.
Matt Jackson is next and he takes Taven out with a somersault dive off the stage and then takes Vinny out with a somersault dive to the floor! Scurll hits a crossbody on Taven after jumping off Matt’s back. Scurll hits Poetry in Motion on Vinny in the corner. Taven is met with double superkicks from the apron and so does Vinny.
TK O’Ryan is the next entrant and he tossed a trash can at Scurll and Matt as he was dressed as a fan. Security tries to escort him out but he reveals himself. Taven uses a trash can on the Bullet Club. Taven smashes Matt with a chair and Matt drops down. Scurll grabs a table from under the ring.
Nick Jackson is the next entrant and he goes right after the Kingdom with kicks. Nick hits a bulldog and a double clothesline to take the Kingdom. Nick kicks Vinny off the apron and does the same to TK. Matt puts Vinny through a table with an elbow drop off the top. Matt takes TK over with a suplex on the floor.
Shane Taylor is the next entrant. Taylor knee strikes Scurll and delivers a sit out spinebuster. Taylor drops Nick with a spinebuster. Taylor slams Matt down to the canvas. Taylor goes to the floor and grabs a table from under the ring and sets it up on the floor.
Adam Page is the final entrant for the match. Page has a chair and whacks Vinny over the back with it. Ryan has TK before slamming and hitting a standing moonsault after a dropkick to Taven. Taylor is in the ring and confronts Page. Taylor avoids the chair shot but gets knocked to the floor. Page goes to the top rope and takes everyone out with a moonsault to the floor.
Matt Jackson also does a top rope moonsault to the floor to take everyone out. Nick goes to the top rope and he also hits a moonsault to everyone on the outside. Scurll goes to the top rope and Scurll takes everyone out with a moonsault on the floor. They are all brawling around ringside and they go into the crowd. Page goes up the balcony and takes everyone out with a moonsault. That was insane!
Page forearms Taylor several times and attempts a double leg slam but can’t hit the move. Taylor has Page over his shoulder to hit a sit down driver. Bucks enter and superkick everyone. Taylor is superkicked by all four Bullet Club guys. Scurll suplexs Taylor for a near fall. Taven hammers away on the Bucks. Taven tries to fight off all the Bullet Club guys and avoids four superkicks but holding onto the ropes. Page is put on a table and Vinny puts Page through the table with a swanton. Taylor splashes Matt for a two count. Taven kicks Scurll off the apron. Taven grabs the table Nick superkicks Taven off the middle rope. Page hits a shooting star press off the apron to hit a Meltzer Driver on Taven on the floor. A Meltzer Driver takes place on the other side of the ring on Vinny. TK is begging off in the ring as Scurll snaps his fingers. Scurl goes for the chicken wing but TK fights him off. TK is superkicked several times by the Bucks and is backdropped over the top going through the table on the floor.
Taylor is put on the table and Nick takes Taylor out with a 450 splash through the table. Page decks TK with a slingshot lariat and drives TK down with a reverse tombstone for the win. (****. A very good main event that kept my interest and flew by for being a near 30-minute match. There is a history between the Bullet Club and the Kingdom so it’s not like there wasn’t heat attached to it. I hope we can get the original main event with SoCal Uncensored at some point. Also, hopefully it’s actually a War Games match, but that’s just me. Adam Page is an excellent performer is should be invested in for ROH’s future. I’m sold on Adam Page.)
Final Thoughts:
I think this is an overall skippable show despite the final two matches being rather entertaining. ROH did the best they could do considering the travel issues coming into the event. They advanced a few things before the PPV next weekend, but it’s not a must-see show.
Thanks for reading.