ROH Death Before Dishonor XIX Review
By Alex Kalil
Was going to watch the Pre-Show BUT dinner ran a little later. I don't think I missed much. Let's get to the show!
ROH World Championship Match: Jonathan Gresham (c) vs. Claudio Castagnoli: Pretty crazy to see this opening but oh well. Gresham tries to out-wrestle Claudio but Claudio is WAY too powerful and just uses his power to throw him around and control most of the match. Gresham goes after the leg to try and chop down the bigger man as well as take away some of his power. Gresham starts unloading his forearm shots to try and rock Claudio but Claudio nails a Swiss Death! He unloads all his best shots on Gresham and finishes him with a Recola Bomb. New Champ! Claudio is finally ROH champion! Good match that maybe should've gone longer. ****
ROH World Six Man Tag Team Championship Match: The Righteous (c) vs. Dalton Castle and The Boys: I love the look and gimmick of The Righteous but their matches are super bland. Dalton and his Boys have the instrumental of Queen's "Radio Gaga", which is awesome (I wish it had the lyrics). This was a TV match. Dalton and The Boys got the crowd into it before getting the win in a decent match. Not much to talk about here. **
ROH Pure Championship Match: Wheeler Yuta (c) vs. Daniel Garcia: This was my kind of wrestling! Tight, smooth technical wrestling with both men making every move count. Garcia got heat by biting an ear and going after it. That is fantastic! Match picks up as both men go for submissions and are able to counter out into one of their own. Garica plays mind games by using Danielson and Regal's moves on Wheeler. Garica goes for the Danielson stomps but Wheeler knows how to counter it and rolls him up for the win to a huge pop. Would have loved like 10 more minutes from these guys. If I am Tony, these two are my Danielson and Nigel of ROH. Keep this feud going! ****1/4
Rush vs. Dragon Lee: The brother vs. brother dream match! Rush is the more furious wrestler all match while Dragon Lee used his speed and quickness. A crazy dive to the outside on to a table by Dragon Lee got the crowd into this. Lots of crazy bumps from both men and a really good count-out tease. Rush nails the Bull's Horn for a big near-fall. Dragon Lee fires up and rocks Rush hard for a big near-fall. Rush looks out on his feet and his brother checks on him, but Rush suckered him in! Superkick and The Bull's Horn ends it. This was a ton of fun to watch! ****
ROH Women's World Championship Match: Mercedes Martinez (c) vs. Serena Deeb: These ladies worked so hard all match and did a great job but this didn't land for me. Some really good back and forth wrestling and trading holds but I just didn't get into the match or what they were doing. Deeb countering a submission by biting Martinez was awesome and the match picked up into the finish as Deeb looked to maybe win it but Martinez just dumped her with some scary bumps before getting the submission win. **1/2
ROH World Television Championship Match: Samoa Joe (c) vs. Jay Lethal: Joe jumps Lethal at the ramp and gets the crowd into this match right away. They brawl on the floor for a few before the bell and Singh interferes to allow Lethal to hurt Joe's arm. Match proper begins and we get Lethal looking to wrestle while Joe just uses his power to manhandle the smaller man. Some great back and forth action and near-falls. Sonjay Dutt distracts and allows Lethal to hit Joe with the belt for a huge near-fall. Lethal tries to end it but Joe locks the choke in to get the submission. These two did a great job to get the people into their match and I hope we see more from these two. ****
Best Two Out of Three Falls Match for the ROH World Tag Team Championship: FTR (c) vs. The Briscoes: Let's get the bad out of the way: the crowd for this was... not great. Don't know what it is but it's there. Now to the good. This match was a WAR! First fall was slow and methodical as both teams tried to make an opening. Briscoes are able to get Dax alone and hit the Doomsday Device for the first fall. Second fall starts and the Briscoes are all over Dax. Nice heat as they milk the hot tag. Cash comes in and runs wild. Briscoes try to cheat and use every trick to try and get the sweep. But FTR is just as clever. They take out Mark and nail The Big Rig on Jay to tie it up! We got a 3rd fall! This was where we went full speed! Blood, hard shots, ref bumps, huge near-falls. Briscoes keep looking for the Doomsday to get the final fall but Cash slams himself and Mark off the apron through a table. Dax and Jay are all alone. They battle back and forth before Dax nails a Bret's rope Piledriver! It is all Dax can do to roll over and just barely cover Jay to win it. This was everything pro wrestling should be. Full stop. And this match gets the full 5 star treatment. *****
This show was all hits and no misses. Even the worst match on the show was still watchable and somewhat enjoyable. 5 matches that make my top matches of the year list and another tag team classic by FTR and the Briscoes, which is a must watch for all wrestling fans. Seek this show out!
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