ROH/NJPW G1 Supercard fallout: Okada reigns at MSG

This is Ring of Honor?

So yeah, Ring of Honor seems hell-bent on being the version of TNA we all justifiably mock both publicly and privately. Immediately after the end of the tag match, there was commotion down by the barricades. Turns out, the artists formerly known as Enzo Amore and Big Cass jumped out of the crowd and started attacking The Briscoes. The line was pretty well-blurred between this being a legit fight or a pro wrestling angle, but it does seem like the former multiple-time never-winners of the WWE tag team titles — reportedly two real-life jerks whom no one likes — have joined the Ring of Honor roster. What’s Nzo and Large Cazz doing in the Honor Zone?

Another weird choice that was certainly a choice: Undercutting your new Women’s champ Kelly Klein by debuting The Allüre? They’re a stable of Angelina Love, Velvet Sky and Mandy Leon, painted as “they’re hot but also they’re very mean” as if the last decade or so of women’s wrestling never happened. They draw on Klein’s forehead in lipstick because she can wrestle good and is therefore ugly or something. It’s dumb and takes forever to play out. The reaction in the crowd is a collective shrug.

And then there’s the street fight. Ooh lord, the street fight. In a perfect and just world where everything is wonderful, this would have been three minutes long and featured Minoru Suzuki brutalizing Bully Ray for the enjoyment of all men, women and children. Instead it was 15 minutes of a convoluted mess that went from being one-on-one, to none-on-one, to one-on-three to three-on-three, all preceded by a rap performance no one wanted (Mega Ran puts on a fun show, but this was hardly the time or place). The big spots were kind of entertaining, but overall: Woof.

Everything on G1 Supercard that was just Ring of Honor ran about five to 10 minutes too long. That is, except for Rush vs. Dalton Castle, which ended up being the best ROH match despite being 15 seconds long. Three shotgun dropkicks to the corner and it was over, Rush absolutely annihilating the former ROH World Champion, Castle. He came across as a complete badass.  Afterwards, the dejected Castle decided he didn’t like The Boys anymore and beat them up. Justice for The Boys, they only wanted to let their master use them as a chair.