The Code of Honor - Ring of Honor Wrestling Recap + Review for January 3, 2015!

Larry Mercer recaps the best of ROH in 2014 in this year-end recap!

Show Results:

1. We look at world class wrestlers that made their return to Ring of Honor: Chris Hero, Christopher Daniels, "Reborn" Matt Sydal, Alex Shelley, and of course "The Phenomenal" A.J. Styles.
2. We look back at A.J. Styles' return match against "Mr. ROH" Roderick Strong from the January 4, 2014 episode of Ring of Honor Wrestling.
3. Kevin Steen's Farewell: Kevin Steen's last ROH match against his mentor Steve Corino from the July 19, 2014 episode of Ring of Honor Wrestling.
4. Jay Lethal signing a deal with The Devil by joining forces with Truth Martini and becoming the first-ever ROH World Television Champion when he defeated Tommaso Ciampa in controversial fashion at Supercard of Honor VIII.
5. Michael Elgin defeating Adam Cole to win his first ROH World Championship at Best in the World, ROH's first televised pay-per-view,
6. Jay Briscoe, who hasn't been pinned or submitted in nearly 3 years, defeats Michael Elgin to become a two-time ROH World Champion (he now ties with Austin Aries for the most title reigns) at All Star Xtravaganza 6.
7. Ring of Honor and New Japan Pro Wrestling's two supershows: Global Wars (5/10/2014) and War of the Worlds (5/17/2014).
8. 2014 Match of the Year: ROH World Tag Team Championship Match: reDRagon (Bobby Fish & Kyle O'Reilly) vs. then-IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson)(c), ROH/NJPW War of the Worlds on May 17th, 2014.

Review:

If there is just one thing I love about year end reviews - they bring back so many great memories, which kinda sucks because ROH has had a great 2014, maybe a better 2014 than any other promotion in the world. 

As ROH fans know, we've seen high profile wrestlers return to their ROH roots, with the likes of  "That Knockout Kid" Chris Hero, "The Phenomenal" A.J. Styles, Christopher Daniels (as part of The Addiction with Frankie Kazarian), and more recently "Reborn" Matt Sydal, who in my opinion, should have made his return to the Indies as soon as he fell into the situation he had with the WWE a couple of years back. Out of these returns, however, the one highlighted was that of A.J. Styles', who may very well had the best year of any wrestler in the business. He went from ending his 12-year relationship with TNA to becoming the first American since Kurt Angle to win the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. And need I remind you of the conglomerate badass ensemble known as The Bullet Club? His match match against Roderick Strong proved a great comeback as "Mr. ROH" was no match for "The Phenomenal One" as Styles defeats Roddy in singles action.

Despite all the returns, we had to say goodbye to a ROH veteran, "Mr. Wrestling" Kevin Steen, as he says farewell to move on to the WWE, where he now works in NXT under the ring name "Kevin Owens". His final match against none other than his mentor and former S.C.U.M. stablemate, Steve Corino. When I watched this match the first time, I couldn't contain myself. I seriously cried after the match was over, because it was like "Damn, did that really just happen? Wow..." Thankfully, they didn't show his farewell speech, or I really would have lost it then. But, we should have seen it coming, since he is destined for greater things in his career. 

ROH in 2014 also saw shocking title changes, starting off with Jay Lethal selling his soul to The Devil known as Truth Martini to become the first and thus far only two-time ROH World Television Champion. At first, I was not feeling this alliance at all. Jay Lethal does not look like the "heel-type" character in my eyes, and he and Truth just make for a odd pairing. As time went on, I began to see the broadened chemistry between these two, and Lethal honing his skills as a heel. Now it seems to work out for the good.

Lastly, there was a recap of ROH and New Japan Pro Wrestling's two super shows: Global Wars and War of the Worlds (as it should have been). Putting two of the top promotions in the world together to make these two classic shows was just pure magic and it ultimately raised the bar and changed the surface of the industry. It was like a dream watching some of my favorite ROH stars clash with the stars from The Land of the Rising Sun such as: Hiroshi Tanahashi (who I consider the "pretty boy of Japan"), Shinsuke Nakamura (SWAGsuke I call him, this is one special guy), "Rainmaker" Kazuchika Okada, The Bullet Club, Jushin "Thunder" Liger, and more! Watching these two shows made me extremely proud to be a fan of professional wrestling.

The match of the year chosen by the ROH fans is: reDRagon vs. The Young Bucks for the ROH World Tag Team Championship at War of the Worlds. I was greatly pleased by this, being that these two teams are without a doubt the best two tag teams in the world. Hands down. Both teams have been global double champions (holding both the ROH World & IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team titles, reDRagon achieved these feat more recently). The Young Bucks straight up conquered the tag team world, and made an impressive debut in Japan, while reDRagon has had three reigns with the ROH World Tag Team titles for almost there whole tenure as team (beginning back at Final Battle 2012). This match was truly a classic, and it was definitely a "shut and take my money" quality match. I would give anything to see these two teams go head-to-head again.

That's it for this week's recap! Come back next week for another recap. HONOR LIVES!