NJPW hit all the right beats while ROH broke down into a mess
The G1 Supercard was supposed to be an epic event that would show the world how good Ring of Honor (ROH) and New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) are. NJPW delivered as usual and showed how good they are while ROH was a mess!
Pre-Show
Match 1: Kagetsu, Hazuki and Jenny Rose defeat Hana Kimura, Sumie Sakai and Stella Grey.
Not much can be said about this match because it wasn’t broadcast on air. Sadly.
Match 2: Honor Rumble
The Great Muta appears! This match should have gone to Jushin Liger because it’s final year of pro-wrestling. Kenny King eliminates the two legends. Really?
Main Show
Winner Take All NEVER and ROH TV Title Match: Will Ospreay (NEVER) vs Jeff Cobb (ROH TV)
Jeff Cobb sends Will Ospreay on a Tour of The Islands to become Dual Champ.
Rush vs Dalton Castle
Rush defeats Dalton Castle in 15 Seconds to continue his undefeated streak. Dalton Castle, sadly, attacks The Boys in frustration.
Women of Honor Championship: Kelly Klein vs Mayu Iwatani
Mayu loses to Kelly Klein and Kelly is attacked by Mandy Leon and The Beautiful People from TNA. ROH really is in a bad spot handling foreign female talent. Mayu Iwatani is excellent in Stardom and they give her a 3rd mediocre match against Kelly Klein. To top it all of, we get a TV angle in Madison Square Garden. Whoever is booking the ROH matches must be DELIRIOUS!
Flip Gordon and Lifeblood (Mark Haskins and Juice Robinson) vs Bully Ray, Shane Taylor and Silas Young
This match was a wasted opportunity to have Minoru Suzuki annihilate Bully Ray.
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship: Taiji Ishimori vs Dragon Lee vs Bandido
This match shows how good the Junior Heavyweights are today. fast-paced lucha libre style with Dragon Lee defeating Ishimori for Bullet Club’s first loss of the night. What stood out was Dragon Lee’s post-match interview. He’s waiting for Hiromu Takahashi. Suffice to say, we’re all waiting for him to come back. We love you Hiromu!
Winner Take All Fatal 4 Way for the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship & the Ring of Honor Tag Team Championship: Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa) vs Los Ingobernables de Japon (EVIL & Sanada) vs Villain Enterprises (PCO & Brody King) vs The Briscoes (Jay & Mark)
Good match. Bad ending. G.O.D.’s win was overshadowed by an attempt of Enzo and Cass to interrupt the show. We haven’t read any verification as to whether this was fake or real.
RevPro British Heavyweight Championship: Zack Sabre Jr. (C) vs Hiroshi Tanahashi
ZSJ made Hiroshi Tanahashi TAP OUT! A few days later, NJPW released a statement that Tanahashi would miss the Dontaku tour due to injury. This may explain why Tanahashi lost.
IWGP Intercontinental Championship: Kota Ibushi vs Tetsuya Naito (C)
Kota Ibushi defeated Tetsuya Naito in a Battle for a Broken Neck! These two wrestlers know each other so well so, you know they were going to hurt each other.
ROH World Championship Triple Threat Ladder Match: Jay Lethal (C) vs Matt Taven vs Marty Scurll
Fans say Matt Taven did not deserve to win while others say that he deserves the win for being the homegrown guy. Marty Scurll is AEW-bound so there was no point in putting the belt on him. Jay Lethal doesn’t need to be in ROH anymore.
IWGP Heavyweight Championship: Kazuchika Okada vs Jay White (C)
Wow. Talk about a barn-burner. This third round vs Okada may be Jay White’s best match as Switchblade to date. No other move is as protected as the Rainmaker Lariat and Jay White kicked out…twice! However, Jay White is taking the Okada route now. He has showed the world that he can win the belt but, it’s going to take a while before he can defend it in the big moments. Looking back, Jay is now in Okada’s position as the rising star while Okada is now in Tanahashi’s position as the Ace of New Japan.
Final Thoughts
Ring of Honor needs to take a look at themselves and see where they went wrong. The entire night felt off for ROH while New Japan was delivering hit after hit. New Japan should reconsider the partnership with Ring of Honor, if ROH doesn’t fix itself and build a proper foundation. The G1 Supercard could have been much better if it wasn’t for ROH messing their booking up.
The Geeky Juans 