Another great Bucks/Briscoes build up tag.
Mostly, that’s because they are once again simply let loose against each other in a main event in front of a hot crowd.
You do not need to do a whole lot to help a Bucks vs. Briscoes match at this point (or any point after like 2010) outside of simply clearing a path and letting them go, and it is once again tremendous. Neither is ever talked up as one of the great opponents of the other, but this 2018 stuff really makes a tremendous case for it, displaying a real special kind of physical chemistry between the teams, on top of all that they have in common ideologically (and how The Briscoes always manage to get the best version of a wild Young Bucks match out there).
They are not alone though, and the other two add a lot to this.
With the Hanger, that’s not all that shocking. Not only because he has a history of working really well with Jay Briscoe, but because at this point, he is finally starting to really develop. Not just the flashes we started to see in 2015, but a full on really good hot tag, and a lack of any noticeable weak points in the match. It’s not his career match, but given how many of those saw him in situations where he didn’t have to do nearly as much, it might just be his career performance so far. Not just because of the hot tag, but because this asks him to be a believable ass kicker against a much bigger guy, and it’s something he gets almost entirely perfect, showing a nearly complete picture of the wrestler and character he would eventually become.
On Martinez’s end though, it is a little bit of a surprise!
Now, that’s not to say he is some revelation here, that the match works because of him, and that it is a God damned shame he never showed this again. None of that is true. However, it is one of the better showings I’ve ever seen from him too, slotted exactly right in this match and hitting his bits and getting out, but still showing a lot in those moments. He has better bumps than I remember, better offense than I remember, and most of all, in a spot where he absolutely could have let the match down or at least caused it to be worse than this, he simply did not. The standards are lowered for the guy, especially among the others in this specific match, but it’s one of the only times ever where I can recall watching the guy and being even a little impressed.
The match is also pretty immaculately laid out too, another of those perfect marriages where the Bucks and Briscoes seem to understand each other perfectly. Wonderful construction mixed with a chaotic feeling at all times, but without ever going overboard, and always moving forward in the right direction, and escalating as well as always.
A best case scenario for all six, and the match as a whole.
Nick Jackson ducks under the Doomsday Device, and when Matt cuts off the other Briscoe, he’s able to roll down into the Victory Roll to just barely take the win.
We’re past the point where I am going out of my way to praise Ring of Honor booking, but in this specific program, it’s a real good one. They began a month ago with the Bucks nearly having it and the titles won, and now on the go-home show, they prove it’s possible, in a way that still leaves a lot of room for questions going into the pay-per-view. Nobody’s reinventing the way things are done here exactly, but a great example of the quietly confident and steady booking this company is still occasionally capable of.
One of the year’s more underrated matches, if only by virtue of taking place on ROH TV.
HANDWERK 