Global Wars: Chicago Reax

Read on for my thoughts on last night's ROH/NJPW Internet special event.
- Cody/Dalton:
While it's a little hard to say who exactly is and isn't a draw these days, but it's been reported crowd size, iPPV buys, etc. have been up for ROH with Cody attached to things. Going from, say, 1,000 to 2,000 fans in a market with about the same level of promotion would be a good indication of a draw. It's unrealistic to expect ROH to go from a few thousand to drawing Wrestlemania-level crowds within a few months on the strength of a few acts. Sinclair doesn't have that level of money to throw around for promotion, etc. compared to WWE. On that note, if a Raw crowd draws 9,000 one year and 10,000 the next year with the same amount of promotion, that's not nearly as impressive of a feat, percentage-wise. Yes, WM32 was WWE's biggest crowd ever, but they had a lot of things going for them ROH doesn't have, from promotional budget to key backstage personnel. Long story short, it's not an apples-to-apples comparison.

AWESOME segment to bring back Dalton. I'm glad to see him back. Final Battle could be a big night for him, even in defeat.

- Silas/Bruiser vs. Friends:
The Friends are making use of their relative youth here.

I'm liking this so far.

Pretty good work from the Friends.

I'm liking what Beretta and Chuckie are doing here.

This is pretty fun overall.

Wow. Rude use of that keg by the Bruiser.

Not bad!

- Scurll vs. Hiromu:
I like what they're pulling out early.

I'm liking how these two are playing off each other.

I hope we see more from Hiromu after this tour ends. He's good.

I like Marty's heel work.

OH MY GOD MARTY YOU MONSTER HOW COULD YOU???? SOMEONE SHUT THIS STREAM DOWN RIGHT NOW!!!!!

It's tough to have comedy and serious action in one match, but they're doing it well.

Haha Marty will do anything to get the win.

Nice for Hiromu to turn the tables on it.

This is really solid!

Ehhhh. One tornado DDT would have been fine.

Really good ending sequence.

- KUSHIDA/Burger vs. Addiction:
I'm surprised neither Addiction member had anything to say before the match.

The heels are doing a good job so far.

OK, that monkey flip to a hurricanrana was pretty cool.

Wow. A stuffed cat and a hoverboard on the same show!

This is going pretty well!

Pretty good work there.

- Post-match:
I think Bully Ray would have fun working with The Addiction.

That was a pretty good setup for Bully's latest promo.

- Bully promo:
If this is just a work, Bully is going all out with it. I'm loving it.

Wow. I wouldn't call myself a big Bully fan, but this is really cool.

This is awesome. Good to see some real emotion here.

Really good use of the kid.

No way is that the last table Bully will break. I'll believe it when I see it.

That was a really good, touching segment.

- Cody/Bucks/Page vs. MCMG/White/Gresham:
I hope they're really done with Too Sweet after this. It's getting so played out.

I do like the big brawl here.

Pretty impressive work going on.

Everyone working hard.

Wow. All kinds of action here.

Move after move after move after move.

OK, that was a pretty funny Sharpshooter spot. The Club can be pretty fun.

The Club do work together pretty well.

That was pretty fun!

- Dawgs vs. O.M. Team:
This is one of the weirdest team gimmicks I've ever seen.

I guess this is more interesting than what Rhett and Ferrara had been doing.

Fine to keep establishing the new team's gimmick.

- Post-match:
I was wondering where Jay was in all of this!

I'm surprised Jay didn't want to address Bully or Dreamer after the big angle they all did.

As tired as it can be for the Briscoes to be a duo yet again, this was a good promo.

- Lethal/Taylor/King vs. Minoru/KES:
Oh this should be really fun.

I'm ready for a big brawl.

Lethal vs. Minoru is going pretty well.

This is wild!! Everyone's going all out.

Minoru and Lethal basically out to kill each other.

NICE end to the Minoru/Lethal sequence.

I really hope we see more of the Squad going forward. They're good.

I'm liking the teamwork from the NJPW names.

Kenny continues to put himself on the map.

Suzuki has really impressed me with these appearances. We've got to see him again next time NJPW's working with ROH.

I'm liking everything here. A lot of fun.

That was a really good/fun ending. Solid show so far.

- Post-match:
Minoru might be the breakout star here as far as someone we don't get to see in the U.S. much.

- Cabana vs. Toru:
Ahhh this is fun.

I like that Colt knows the turnbuckle spot.

Hahaha this is silly. I love it.

I wouldn't mind a little more comedy in wrestling.

Biggest ref bump ever?

This is goofy in the best possible way.

Ahhhhh. What a breath of fresh air!

- Ospreay vs. Flip:
This will be a spectacle of a different kind.

This is definitely pretty.

Both men can do incredible, amazing things.

This is crazy. I'm blown away.

Haha. This is something else.

Oh, yeah, this is getting a lot of stars.

Absolutely wild action here.

Impressive work from both men. They do their style well.

- Omega vs. HASHI:
Y-H has a lot of work ahead of him here.

HASHI might be able to do it given this start.

I'm liking this for the most part.

I'm pretty impressed with these two so far.

NICE running powerbomb.

This is good! Both men have some good skill.

Uh-oh... so much for that ref.

I'm glad we didn't have to see the same Bullet Club spot we've seen several nights now.

Haha. The other workers returning the favor was crazy.

Fun work here.

This is getting pretty wild here.

Damn. Everyone getting involved in this one!!

Pretty good work!

- Post-match:
Hahaha good use of the now-former WWE Creative team member. 

More wrestling coming up.