This evening, ROH will present the seventh edition of their All Star Extravaganza event. And on paper it looks like a one hell of an event, with three titles defended, a new number 1 contender for the World Title determined and several feuds getting their PPV pay-off. Let’s take a look at all matches and try to divine what might happen.
Dalton Castle with the Boys vs “The Last real Man” Silas Young (If Castle loses, Young gets the Boys, If Young loses he becomes one of the Boys):
Usually, gimmicks like Dalton Castle’s and this kind of stipulation will, at the most, get a wince out of me before I go look elsewhere. But, amazingly, this particular feud as worked like a charm until now. Full credit to Castle himself and his Boys who have taken a rather ridiculous gimmick to another level but also to Young who has been gold on promo. Not easy to predict a winnere here, as castle is really getting over with the ROH crowd, while Young was right o the verge of becoming a top ROH star before an injury sidetracked him. While Young as part of the Boys would no doubt be entertaining, ‘m gonna go the other way. Castle can take the loss, and him rebounding from that loss and go after Young to recuperate his Boys would add an edge to his character, while a win would get Young close to his former level again.
Winner: Silas Young.
Cedric Alexander with Veda Scott vs Moose with Stokely Hathaway in a No-DQ Match:
Cedric Alexander’s heel turn has been quite successful until now, while Moose has been pushed to the moon by ROH. So I’m gonna go with Moose here. He is over with the crowds and ROH clearly has big plans for him, while Alexander easily can take a loss in this spot without losing his effectiveness as an heel. Should be a great match if Moose can step up to Alexander’s level.
Winner: Moose
ACH vs Reeborn Matt Sydal in match 3 of their best of 5 series:
Each has won a match until now, I haven’t seen the first two, to be honest, but I hear they were pretty great. So expectations are high for the first PPV match of their series. And rightfully so, these two can wrestle up a storm in that ring. Expect fast-paced, spectacular action. As for the winner, I think Sydal will ultimately win the series, so it couldn’t hurt for ACH to pick the win here, will allow him tolose as little momentum as possible.
Winner: ACH
A. J. Styles vs Adam Cole vs Roderick Strong vs Michael Elgin in a Nr 1 Contender Match:
Winner of this one will receive a shot at the ROH World Title. Quite difficult to predict actually, as each wrestler brings quite a bit to the table and would make a viable challenger. Let’s look at each participants individually.
Roderick Strong has had a rather fantastic 2015 until now. A string of top-notch matches and elevated status makes him a very serious contender. Problem is, he’s been in the Nr 1 Contender spot already and has already lost a couple of matches against Lethal. Furthermore, rumors about him doing a tour over in Japan remain insistent. No doubt he will contribute to make this one a great match but I don’t see him win here, it’s too soon after his losses against Lethal. Things might be different if O’Reilly wins the Championship but that seems like a long shot.
Adam Cole seems to have completely recuperated from his injury earlier this year and could form a very serious challenge for Lethal. Problem with him is, ROH has booked him in a rather erratic way since his return so it’s difficult to say were he stands exactly. His alliance with The Kingdom also seems on shaky grounds nowadays, so will ROH resolve that first or simply push him onwards and play out the eventual conflict (if any) with The Kingdom as it happens? Like said the booking hasn’t helped him until now, then again a win here could remedy that.
Michael Elgin, freshly returned from a very successful tour in Japan presents several advantages. His status was boosted with a series of stellar performances at this year’s G1 Climax so he would also be a very serious challenger. Problem with Elgin is, while super-over with the Japanese crowds he continues to struggle to gain acceptance from the North-American crowds. Could be a good choice as a short term contender but you would then get a heel (Lethal) against a not-quite-face (Elgin). Not sure how that will work out. Elgin’s best option is another tour in Japan I think.
A. J. Styles has had a very busy, and quite successful, year until now. His status in NJPW remains very high despite losing the IWGP Heavyweight title to Okada at Dominion. That being said, while NJPW will undoubtedly push him again in the near future, they, typically, don’t seem to be in any rush right now. Making the possibility of a Styles win quite real. A Lethal/Styles match up would no doubt attract much attention, and, in case of a Lethal win, further elevate the current ROH World Champion. So my pick is…
Winner: A. J. Styles
The Briscoes vs ??? in an open challenge tag team match:
Difficult to predict this one since we don’t even know who The Briscoes will face. Adam Page has had his problems with the Briscoes in recent times, so The Decade is a possibility. War Machine is another, as they have been pushed quite a bit in recent times. Finally there are some rumors that Austin Aries might make a surprise appearance, but, in that case, who will he team with? Adam Page? What will BJ Whitmer make of that? I have a feeling it might be War Machine, who will then be first in line to challenge whomever is tag team champions, but nothing is certain here.
Winner: I’ll tell you after the match.
ROH World Tag Team Championship Match: The Addiction (Christopher Daniels and Kazarian) (c) vs The Young Bucks (Matt and Nick Jackson) vs The Kingdom (Matt Taven and Michael Bennett):
I literally have no idea here. The problem is The Young Bucks and The Kingdom are also NJPW regulars and that there are tag teams tournaments over there in the coming months. It wouldn’t be the first time ROH Tag Team Champion appear n NJPW shows (see ReDragon) but still. Also the mounting tensions between Taven, Bennett and Cole could come into play here. Finally, The Addiction has been very affective in their role as cocky heel champions so there would be no harm in them retaining. That being siad, The Kingdom could use a title run. While win or lose won’t make any difference for The Young Bucks. Oh I don’t know, lets go with:
Winner: The Kingdom
ROH World TV Championship: Jay Lethal (c) vs Bobby Fish
ROH World Championship: Jay Lethal (c) vs Kyle O’Reilly
I’m discussing both matches together since Lethal is defending both his titles against the two members of ReDragon, which adds a rather intriguing twist. Coould be Lethal retains both. The story of a champion showing sign of cracking under the pressure of challengers coming at me from all sides has been great until now, but I simply don’t know how long they can keep that up. Logic would dictate Lethal loses one of his titles here, and the same logic would also dictate it’s too soon for him to lose the world title. Which would mean Fish beats Lethal for the TV title, and Lethal would then rally and pull out all the stops to beat O’Reilly. That’s what I’m going for anyway.
Winner and new World TV Champion: Bobby Fish
Winner and still World Champion: Jay Lethal
