Official 19th Anniversary Thread

[indyfan]

Horus vs Flamita vs Bandido was nuts!!!!!

im enjoying the cinematic match. great idea going to their old dojo

[AnHonorableMention]

Taven and Vincent is easily the worst match of the year, maybe worst of the covid era. I am embarrassed for them.

[monster mafia]

nice match between taven and vincent..interesting to see bill carr too.

[monster mafia]

HOLLY FUCKING SHIT

HOMICIDE AND DIRTY DADDY IN ROH.

[famicommander]

That was a great card. Not super psyched about Dragon Lee losing two titles without wrestling but I guess that'll be his storyline when he returns.

Always happy to see Homicide. Cool to see Chris Dickinson in ROH. I figured something along these lines was in the works for Brody but I didn't predict these two would be involved.

I don't think I've ever seen Bill Carr before.

Happy the women's division is returning, curious who will fill out the field for the tournament.

Seems like Dalton Castle is sticking around. No reason to give him two wins over Josh Woods on his way out the door.

Dak had the best match of his ROH career.

As I said before, EC3 had the best match of his career.

Rush and Lethal was great.

I thought Taven vs Vincent could've gone on longer but I'm glad it wasn't much of a "cinematic" match. Shot in one continuous take, cameramen acknowledged.

Are Yuta and Yehi signed or what?

[AnHonorableMention]

What an odd mix for Brody. But ROH loves factions that have absolutely nothing in common so that checks the boxes of Delirious. So thrilled for Rhett. Excellent main event match. The most shocking thing was Doug Gentry's name on Dee's t-shirt. Good show, not great, and jesus christ Matt Taven and Vincent should be sentenced to prison for that.

[indyfan]

i loved the show.

pure title, main event and lucha 3 way are must see

i liked Taven vs vinny. it made sense that they went back to their dojo and all that. i got chuckle out of Vinny putting up a welcome home Taven lol

all in all im pretty happy and xant wait for whats to come

[BurningHammer]

I think this is the happiest I’ve been with ROH since Cole was champ, if everyone can stick around for a couple of years this really going to be something if everyone goes right.

Seeing Dickenson in an ROH ring finally is great to see and Homicide looks like he’s getting younger and in better shape in sometime.

Bill Carr is interesting since so much of his career has been in a tag team that was more comedy than anything as serious as he is portraying now so it will be interesting to see how it goes.

You add Vega and Andrade to LFI now we with Dragon Lee back what a stable to go up against three to four other strong connected groups. The singles, tag, three man and general multi man matches that you can put together throughout the card is really something now.

All this without even getting into the international talent, the other dojo guys, Yehi, Yuta, the women that are coming. Honestly ROH could do three hours weekly with the crew they have (they should in way do it) but they could and still high quality throughout.

[famicommander]

I think this is the happiest I’ve been with ROH since Cole was champ, if everyone can stick around for a couple of years this really going to be something if everyone goes right.

Seeing Dickenson in an ROH ring finally is great to see and Homicide looks like he’s getting younger and in better shape in sometime.

Bill Carr is interesting since so much of his career has been in a tag team that was more comedy than anything as serious as he is portraying now so it will be interesting to see how it goes.

You add Vega and Andrade to LFI now we with Dragon Lee back what a stable to go up against three to four other strong connected groups. The singles, tag, three man and general multi man matches that you can put together throughout the card is really something now.

All this without even getting into the international talent, the other dojo guys, Yehi, Yuta, the women that are coming. Honestly ROH could do three hours weekly with the crew they have (they should in way do it) but they could and still high quality throughout.

Three hours weekly is fine as long as it's a two hour show and a one hour show airing separately. Nobody wants or needs a three hour show in one sitting every single week, though. I can't remember the last time I made it through a whole Raw.

[BurningHammer]

I think this is the happiest I’ve been with ROH since Cole was champ, if everyone can stick around for a couple of years this really going to be something if everyone goes right.

Seeing Dickenson in an ROH ring finally is great to see and Homicide looks like he’s getting younger and in better shape in sometime.

Bill Carr is interesting since so much of his career has been in a tag team that was more comedy than anything as serious as he is portraying now so it will be interesting to see how it goes.

You add Vega and Andrade to LFI now we with Dragon Lee back what a stable to go up against three to four other strong connected groups. The singles, tag, three man and general multi man matches that you can put together throughout the card is really something now.

All this without even getting into the international talent, the other dojo guys, Yehi, Yuta, the women that are coming. Honestly ROH could do three hours weekly with the crew they have (they should in way do it) but they could and still high quality throughout.

Three hours weekly is fine as long as it's a two hour show and a one hour show airing separately. Nobody wants or needs a three hour show in one sitting every single week, though. I can't remember the last time I made it through a whole Raw.

Yeah for sure, 3 hours unless a PPV is just too much, weirdly I remember how RAW used to drag even at 2 hours compared to Smackdown which felt so quick and energetic for the most part. Weird how the same company could deliver two different feels to each show. It will be interesting to see where ROH goes from here because 1 hour for all that talent just isn’t enough.

[famicommander]

I think this is the happiest I’ve been with ROH since Cole was champ, if everyone can stick around for a couple of years this really going to be something if everyone goes right.

Seeing Dickenson in an ROH ring finally is great to see and Homicide looks like he’s getting younger and in better shape in sometime.

Bill Carr is interesting since so much of his career has been in a tag team that was more comedy than anything as serious as he is portraying now so it will be interesting to see how it goes.

You add Vega and Andrade to LFI now we with Dragon Lee back what a stable to go up against three to four other strong connected groups. The singles, tag, three man and general multi man matches that you can put together throughout the card is really something now.

All this without even getting into the international talent, the other dojo guys, Yehi, Yuta, the women that are coming. Honestly ROH could do three hours weekly with the crew they have (they should in way do it) but they could and still high quality throughout.

Three hours weekly is fine as long as it's a two hour show and a one hour show airing separately. Nobody wants or needs a three hour show in one sitting every single week, though. I can't remember the last time I made it through a whole Raw.

Yeah for sure, 3 hours unless a PPV is just too much, weirdly I remember how RAW used to drag even at 2 hours compared to Smackdown which felt so quick and energetic for the most part. Weird how the same company could deliver two different feels to each show. It will be interesting to see where ROH goes from here because 1 hour for all that talent just isn’t enough.

Whether it's a TV shake up or at the very least returning to 25-40 Honor Club events per year, we all agree that something has to change with the volume of content.

You have to think they know that. there's no way they'd keep signing and re-signing people if they were planning to stick with the one hour per week format for too much longer.

Speaking of, Dalton Castle confirmed he is staying in ROH in a backstage interview posted online. If I'm not wrong that's all the major free agents returning.

[Shanahan]

Three hours weekly is fine as long as it's a two hour show and a one hour show airing separately. Nobody wants or needs a three hour show in one sitting every single week, though. I can't remember the last time I made it through a whole Raw.

Yeah for sure, 3 hours unless a PPV is just too much, weirdly I remember how RAW used to drag even at 2 hours compared to Smackdown which felt so quick and energetic for the most part. Weird how the same company could deliver two different feels to each show. It will be interesting to see where ROH goes from here because 1 hour for all that talent just isn’t enough.

Whether it's a TV shake up or at the very least returning to 25-40 Honor Club events per year, we all agree that something has to change with the volume of content.

You have to think they know that. there's no way they'd keep signing and re-signing people if they were planning to stick with the one hour per week format for too much longer.

Speaking of, Dalton Castle confirmed he is staying in ROH in a backstage interview posted online. If I'm not wrong that's all the major free agents returning.

Haven't watched the PPV yet but i'm so so happy Dalton is staying. I absolutely love him.

[Chrisvegas27]

I think you are really seeing the revival of roh

[BurningHammer]

Three hours weekly is fine as long as it's a two hour show and a one hour show airing separately. Nobody wants or needs a three hour show in one sitting every single week, though. I can't remember the last time I made it through a whole Raw.

Yeah for sure, 3 hours unless a PPV is just too much, weirdly I remember how RAW used to drag even at 2 hours compared to Smackdown which felt so quick and energetic for the most part. Weird how the same company could deliver two different feels to each show. It will be interesting to see where ROH goes from here because 1 hour for all that talent just isn’t enough.

Whether it's a TV shake up or at the very least returning to 25-40 Honor Club events per year, we all agree that something has to change with the volume of content.

You have to think they know that. there's no way they'd keep signing and re-signing people if they were planning to stick with the one hour per week format for too much longer.

Speaking of, Dalton Castle confirmed he is staying in ROH in a backstage interview posted online. If I'm not wrong that's all the major free agents returning.

I’d very much hope so, you just can’t continue on with so little time and so many stories to tell and everyone to follow. Especially when it’s at different all across America/the world, it all becomes a little disconnected even with it being the same show.

I don’t know if Dalton staying is that important for ROH as obviously things have moved on, but he is still a unique character that I still and obviously a number of others enjoy. If the Taven and Vincent story is still going to be told having him injected in that might be an interesting Avenue to take.

I will say the negative I would have about last night was how the ending was done, it just felt like everyone was almost too tired to put another burst of energy to make things click a gear and without a crowd the space of Brody announcing everyone felt a little rough. Personally I would have just had Brody with his crew jump in the ring from all sides, they did it with him on TV and it either really well, also him in normal clothes while the others were kind of in ring gear felt a little misplaced especially when his ring gear is so strong and matches well with the character. Small things overall I know but I think in the no fan wrestling world you see and feel these things a little more.

[Montana]

Overall really good show, close to great. Seems like the reaction has been overwhelmingly positive. Probably more surprises than any other ROH show in recent memory. Loved the added mexasquad 3 way, and I kinda figured ROH would do something to make a better card without Bandido.

I like the show had the theme of foundation vs lFI. Pure vs evil. Thought the ending delivered. I agree with the mismatched clothing, but yeah minor detail. Think they put on a really good show, set up for the future and left fans wanting more. So that’s always good.

Seems like ROH is trending in the right direction. I still think they need to continue to grow their fan base up/back a bit. Seems like a lot of new HC subs for the show, so that’s good.

At some point, hopefully ROH figures out their TV/Honorclub plan. Think ROH can easily double impact numbers on a similar tv plan. Hopefully we do, but Not sure if we’ll get that.

[AlexROH]

The Anniversary show was the much needed home-run that ROH deserves after so many months of good work and solid wrestling. I haven't enjoyed a ROH PPV that much in a long time. Everything clicked. The worst matches were beyond average and the best stuff was superb. Pacing was great too, with every match feeling different and getting the time it needed. I also loved the ending, with the big Homicide's comeback and Dickinson's debut, which is a huge get.

Brian Johnson vs. Eli Isom vs. Danhausen vs. LSG 1/4
MexiSquad (Flamita, Bandido & Rey Horus) vs. Shane Taylor Promotions (Shane Taylor & SOS) 1/2

Tracy Williams vs. Kenny King
Flip Gordon vs. Mark Briscoe 1/4
Josh Woods vs. Dalton Castle 1/2+
Jay Briscoe vs. EC3
Bandido vs. Flamita vs. Rey Horus 1/4+
[Unsanctioned] Vincent vs. Matt Taven 3/4
Dak Draper vs. Jonathan Gresham 1/2
The Foundation (Titus & Williams) vs. La Facción Ingobernable (Bestia & King)
Rush vs. Jay Lethal

Overall, one of my favourite PPVs of modern ROH. You should go and watch it. The roster is great, the booking makes sense and, overall, the company really looks like it's finally going in a good direction. More of this, please.

[famicommander]

Hopefully in a few more months the vaccination rate will be high enough that we can have normal crowds and no bubble.

Can you imagine if this card or Final Battle had been in Philly, NY, or a Baltimore with a crowd? Or Center Stage, which had some awesome lucha crowd energy last time they ran it?

They need to hit their core markets quickly and with reasonable ticket prices once they resume touring. NY, Boston, Philly, Baltimore, Chicago, Buffalo (they probably won't be able to hit Toronto for a lot longer than the others), Atlanta, NC, Columbus, Pittsburgh, etc. A Texas loop might be a good idea with all the luchadores they have now.

[indyfan]

i found only one review for the show in wrestling media. i was hoping 411 would have a review up by now. But they dont. i know it doesnt matter that much but there are still fans on the fence and i know many wait for the reviews to see what matches to check out.

[Montana]

Brian Johnson vs. Eli Isom vs. Danhausen vs. LSG 3.00
Nice opener. Nothing too special, but good to get these on the card. LSG is really good.

MexiSquad (Flamita, Bandido & Rey Horus) vs. Shane Taylor Promotions (Shane Taylor & SOS) 3.5
I'm always impressed with SOS. Probably the best dojo signing i can recall.


Tracy Williams vs. Kenny King 3.25
Little underwhelming way to win the belt, but liked the finish a lot. Kenny needs to work on his strikes...bad.

Flip Gordon vs. Mark Briscoe 3.25
When are we getting that Flip Gordon title shot? I'm pretty convinced that Flip is just that good now, and not a flippy/spot monkey. Excited for his future.

Josh Woods vs. Dalton Castle 3.5
Interesting timing to turn Silas on Josh, but yeah think we all saw this coming at some point. Probably not tonight, but looking forward to Josh getting his revenge.

Jay Briscoe vs. EC3 3.75 if not better
Well... EC3 and Jay delivered. Glad to see this match do well.

Bandido vs. Flamita vs. Rey Horus 4.25-4.5

Really good stuff here. My eyes were glued; and Horus is so under rated. Bandido is awesome. Flamita has his strengths too. All three guys very talented. Great addition to the show with no Dragon Lee!!

[Unsanctioned] Vincent vs. Matt Taven 3.25
I don't think anything on this show was bad or even average... But i will say i was a bit let down wit this match. I was expecting a more cinematic/entertainment experience, so maybe that was part of it... just my own expectations. Plus that excellent Vincent promo with the haunting eerie music. What we got was a let down. I was thinking while watching....Famicommander is probably semi-satisfied with this. As it was more of a 1 camera shot fight/brawl, where they acknowledged the camera. The strikes and brawling were good. I think this would have worked really well for TV. But for the PPV; when your expecting a blow out finale to a feud... this wasn't it. It basically just said this isn't going to be over for a while. I was expecting more blood, i was expecting Vincent planting some weapons of destruction. I was expecting Bennett and Bateman. I was off. Again, wasn't a bad match/brawl... just wasn't what i was looking for.


Dak Draper vs. Jonathan Gresham 4.25
This match was really well put together. Dak Draper delivered, and Gresham does what he always does. What i really liked about this match, was that Gresham did what Gresham would do fighting a bigger opponent, and same for Draper. Gresham was working the leg the whole match and it really worked. Two minor details that i thought could have made this match even better/perfect: When Draper had a 3-0 lead on rope breaks; he should have foolishly wasted a punch, thinking he had it in the bag. The other thing; would have been he should have went for more rope submissions when Gresham had no rope breaks left. Seemed like he just tried to pin him after that. Also, it seems like if Gresham was out of rope breaks; he shouldn't have gotten a pass on the standing 10 count being under the ropes, but is what it is. Wonder if Draper will complain about that. BUT... REALLY good match, none the less.


The Foundation (Titus & Williams) vs. La Facción Ingobernable (Bestia & King) 3.00
Solid match, great promo after by Titus/Williams on the post show. Bestia has been a nice addition. He's a little limited in the ring; but he makes most things work. That spear at the end was nuts!


Rush vs. Jay Lethal 4.5
Rush's best match in ROH. Really good stuff... no complaints here other than Rush smashing Jay's face with the Bulls Horns...DAMN!


Overall show 8.75 /10
I hear a lot of folks say it was a home run... and i'd certainly say it was close. I'd probably go solid double, maybe a triple. Step in the right direction for sure. Everything was really good, and nothing was bad in 4 hours. Cool ending. Story lines were all moved forward. I really like the Foundation vs. LFI theme, with the Violence faction coming in at the end. The only area, where i was slightly let down was Taven/Vincent. Think ROH did enough at the show, so that you weren't let down by Zelina/Andrade weren't involved. With the 4 hour PPV and the 1 hour of TV with all wrestlers that weren't on the PPV; you had a nice 5 hours with mostly all unique wrestlers, and no womens wrestling or any AU/UK talent yet. Hopefully ROH can figure out the right mix of TV distribution, TV time, HonorClub and live events for the future.

*** Also... Special thanks for Ian, Caprice and Rocky. They REALLY make these matches come alive, with no crowds. I'm amazing how they keep things flowing the whole show with no crowds. Good camera work too. Easily the best announce team today ***

[maxx_powerz]

i found only one review for the show in wrestling media. i was hoping 411 would have a review up by now. But they dont. i know it doesnt matter that much but there are still fans on the fence and i know many wait for the reviews to see what matches to check out.

Don't know if you saw the same one as me, I saw a detailed review on PW Torch. They hated EC3 / Briscoe and didn't much care for Rush / Lethal although it seems like there was an existing anti- Rush agenda there. Ambivalent on Taven / Vincent, treated it like segment / angle rather than a match with a rating. High marks for the lucha triple threat, Pure title match and they liked the closing segment. Which I have to say seems more in line with the reaction I was seeing on Wreddit / Twitter so I don't know if the show was as much of a hit with casuals as it seems to have been here.