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Nearly 2,500 people packed into the Odeum Expo Center in Villa Park, Illinois last night for Ring of Honor's Global Wars Chicago event. It was the fourth show in as many nights for the promotion, capping off a successful tour across the eastern and central parts of the United States. I was fortunate enough to attend this awesome four-hour show last night. Here's a quick recap of the night.
#1 Tag Team Match: Chuckie T and Baretta vs. Silas Young and Beer City Bruiser
First off, the crowd was white-hot the entire night, especially during Bullet Club matches. Chicago crowds are known for being rowdy, and they didn't disappoint last night in the slightest.
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This was a fun, solid opener to a stacked card. All four guys looked good in the ring. Nothing that was over the top, though.
Result: Beer City Bruiser and Silas Young defeat Chuckie T and Baretta via pinfall.
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#2 "The Villain" Marty Scrull vs. Hiromu Takahashi
Both these guys were insanely over with the crowd, and they played with their emotions to a point when T. Darryl got involved, which is always fun. It was an evenly-contested bout that had the fans out of their seats on multiple occasions.
Result: Marty Scrull defeats Hiromu Takahashi via submission.
#3: Cheeseburger and Kushida vs. The Addiction (Frankie Kazarian and Christopher Daniels)
The emotional high of the night came next. After The Addiction (Kaz and Daniels) beat Cheeseburger and Kushida in a straight-forward match, Bully Ray came out of nowhere and power slammed Kazarian through a table. Ray then grabbed a microphone and implied that he was stepping away from pro wrestling.
A thunderous standing ovation ensued for Ray. He then brought a little kid in the ring and gave him a piece of the table he just broke. Ray signed the piece for the kid during intermission, which was awesome. A truly incredible moment that made everyone emotional in the arena.
Result: The Addiction defeats Cheeseburger and Kushida via pinfall; Bully Ray implies he's retiring
#4 Bullet Club (Young Bucks, Cody, Hangman Page) vs. Motor City Machine Guns (Chris Sabin, Alex Shelley), Jonathan Gresham and Jay White
Wow, what a match this was. High spot after high spot. Hundreds of superkicks. The crowd was absolutely loving it too. Bullet Club had all four of their opponents in sharpshooters at one point, which was a fun spot. B.C. picked up the win in a MOTN-type performance.
Result: Bullet Club (Young Bucks, Cody, Hangman Page) defeat the Motor City Machine Guns (Chris Sabin, Alex Shelley), Jonathan Gresham and Jay White via pinfall.
*Show went to intermission after the 8-man tag.*
#5 The Dawgs (Will Ferrara and Rhett Titus) vs. Brian Johnson and Justin Pusser
Crowd was pretty dead for this one. I felt bad for these guys because they did some solid in-ring work. Half the crowd was still in line for concessions, though, so nobody was really watching or cheering.
After the match, Jay Briscoe came out and attacked all of them, called out his brother, Mark, and said they need to get back to being the "baddest tag team on the planet." Again, the crowd was still coming back from intermission, so not much response from this promo as well.
Result: The Dawgs defeat Brian Johnson and Justin Pusser via pinfall.
#6 Minoru Suzuki and the Killer Elite Squad (Lance Archer and Davey Boy Smith Jr.) against Shane Taylor, Jay Lethal and Kenny King
It amazes me how Suzuki can still go in the ring. He hit Taylor with the Gotch piledriver, which was impressive given Taylor's size. Match went on for a little long, but the piledriver at the end got the crowd jumping. Suzuki is the man.
Result: Minoru Suzuki and the Killer Elite Squad (Lance Archer and Davey Boy Smith Jr.) defeat Shane Taylor, Jay Lethal and Kenny King via pinfall.
#7 Colt Cabana vs. Toru Yano
Colt Cabana and Toru Yano followed in a hilarious comedy match. The turnbuckle padding came into play. They threw each other's DVDs into the crowd. There were about five real wrestling moves, but it was still fantastic. It even got a "this is awesome" chant, and rightfully so. Cabana won eventually in a quick, fun match.
Result: Colt Cabana defeats Toru Yano via pinfall.
#8 Will Ospreay vs. Flip Gordon
Will Ospreay and Flip Gordon then went out there and did almost every high-spot imaginable. It was truly a spectacle to see these guys move their bodies so effortlessly through the air. Probably the match of the night given how crazy it was. Multiple standing ovations throughout by the crowd as the match stole the show. Ospreay won with his Oscutter finisher. Wow, what a match.
Result: Will Ospreay defeats Flip Gordon via pinfall.
#9 Main Event: Kenny Omega vs. YOSHI-HASHI for the IWGP U.S. Heavyweight Championship
Kenny Omega didn't have his title as NJPW forgot to bring it due to some confusion with Omega himself.
The crowd went gaga for Omega, as usual. He's one of the best wrestlers on the planet, and he showed it on Sunday night. After a solid 20-plus minute match, all craziness broke out when the ref was taken out. Bullet Club came in to take out Hashi, only for CHAOS to come out and help Hashi. It led to two high spots: a shooting star press onto the floor by Ospreay, and Nick Jackson hitting a 450 splash onto Flip Gordon through a table.
After all the shenanigans, Omega finished off Hashi with the one-winged angel to retain his title. B.C. then cut a promo afterwards and took a selfie with Jimmy Jacobs, who was in the crowd. Omega then bid everyone adieu, and the show ended.
Result: Kenny Omega defeats YOSHI-HASHI via pinfall.
Overall, it was a really fun show that lived up to the expectations. Multiple matches went over like crazy with the crowd, and Bullet Club left looking stronger than ever. The core of Omega, Cody, Young Bucks, Scrull and Page are so talented, and every match they put on is usually fantastic. It's a fun time to be a wrestling fan with these guys tearing down the house everywhere they go.
