So, a very good show, but a disappointing one. Perhaps my expectations were a little too high. Perhaps I’m still reeling from the phenomenal NXT Takeover event on Friday evening. Nothing was bad, but nothing was particularly memorable aside from one match.
First, Tetsuya Naito vs. Kota Ibushi was awesome, and was match of the night for me. These two delivered a strong bout that easily stole the show. Everything else ranged from decent to very good. I feel part of the problem for the G1 was that there were simply too many matches on the card.
Matches like the three-way dance between Taiji Ishimori, Dragon Lee, and Bandido were considerably shorter because matches like the Six Man Street Fight had to happen. There was nothing wrong with the street fight, but it was ultimately forgettable. It was nice that Flip Gordon wasn’t injured after all, but the ROH star and Bully Ray wrapped up their feud back in December. It’s one thing if Bully went over Juice to set-up a title match down the road, but nothing of substance really happened. Gordon got his revenge months ago and the match wasn’t anything we haven’t seen before.
The IWGP Junior Heavyweight match-up was damn good. Had that bout got at least ten more minutes then it probably would’ve been the match of the night or even a match of the year contender. Could we be in for a Dragon Lee vs. a returning Hiromu Takahashi?
I like Rush defeating Castle in 20 seconds, along with the angle that followed it. Rush was put over huge by defeating a former World champion in a squash match and Castle’s character evolved. Good booking here, even though I was excited for a long match-up between these two.
The Beautiful People and Many Leon segment was decent, but went on too long. There was nothing memorable about Angelina Love and Velvet Sky’s introduction and Klein simply going back to posing with her newly won belt after the minor beatdown was a mistake that negated their assault. The Women of Honor title match was a solid encounter between Klein and Iwatani, but nothing that differed from their previous matches.
ROH still seems to be trying to figure out what to do with its women’s division. While the women do work hard, their matches don’t have enough heat because there’s barely any story going in. Hopefully with The Allure (which is what Love, Sky, and Leon are calling themselves) on the roster, the company will finally give us a meaningful feud.
The Never Openweight/ROH TV championship opener between Will Ospreay and Jeff Cobb was very good. Same thing can be said about Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi for the British Heavyweight Championship. Fatal 4 Way Tag Team title match suffered due to being short; however, it was good for the amount of time it was given. G.O.D winning wasn't a surprise since Villain Enterprises recently won the Six-Man Tag Team titles as well.
I have no comment just yet on the Enzo and Cass situation. It’s strange, because the incident could’ve been an angle, but ROH/New Japan did their best to avoid the situation at all costs, which makes no sense if it was a work.
ROH World Title match was very good, but nothing special. Some fun spots and moments like the running powerbomb through the bridge ladder, but there was nothing truly inventive or insane. Perhaps it's my lofty expectations, but the ladder match just didn’t leave a lasting impression. Intrigued with Matt Taven as the new ROH World Champion.
The second-best match of the night goes to Okada vs. Jay White. Great match, and White has truly grown as a performer. Okada is Okada (meaning he’s always awesome). However, the finish was never in doubt. With Okada coming in 0-2 against White in terms of singles competition, it wasn’t a surprise that the promotion decided to give him his win back.
In fact, I was disappointed. I understand putting the belt back on Okada, but New Japan should’ve let White hold onto that title a little longer. Let “Switchblade” build up his credibility more before finally taking the title off of him. White isn’t ruined because he lost to Okada, but it would’ve been nice for New Japan to continue taking a risk with the Bullet Club leader.
I know I sound really down on this show, but this was an enjoyable event that I don’t regret watching. However, my disappointment stems from nothing being truly unforgettable. There were fun moments and really good matches, but in my eyes, Takeover is still king in terms of the best show on WrestleMania weekend thus far.