Big matches hit a wild 2300 Arena house
Collision in Philadelphia saw incredible action up and down the card in the 2300 Arena Sunday, with a heated crowd taking in some heated matches.
Wild tag team action would see Hiromu Takahashi and Tetsuya Naito of LIJ face BULLET CLUB’s KENTA and Chase Owens. Philadelphia was entirely behind everyone but Chase, and were delighted to see Owens dropped early, but as LIJ played to the 2300 crowd, they paid for overconfidence with an attack from KENTA that helped Chase turn the tables. Owens would respond to chants of ‘we want Switchblade’ by feigning an attempt at the Bladerunner, and the BULLET CLUB side would take over on Naito.
Naito finally broke free after extensive BC control, hitting the ring with customary energy but getting stalled by a short DDT. A Dragon Screw would turn the tide, and Naito followed up, but Owens stopped a running Destino and hit Jewel Heist for a long two. A C-Trigger struck for Owens who wanted the Package Piledriver, but Hiromu would make the save, and a jackknife pin almost scored a New Japan Cup replay win for Naito. Instead, an assisted spike DDT would be the prelude for Destino and the three.
Rottweilers reunited in Philadelphia when Homicide and Rocky Romero took on SANADA and Yoshinobu Kanemaru. 2300 Arena gave a huge reaction to new IWGP World Champion SANADA, but he was taken to the mat by Homicide in an evenly matched opening. Homicide and Romero were effective indeed, but a basement dropkick and figure four from Kanemaru would slow Homicide, and the match would spill to the floor.
The Rottweilers continued to impress, taking bites out of Kanemaru as the match progressed, but the Forever Clotheslines would be stopped by a DDT from the Heel Master, and SANADA was back inside. Romero would have a flashback to deep personal trauma when he got tied in the Paradise Lock as Philadelphia came to its feet; SANADA would follow with a Skull End attempt, but Romero would break the move up as the match broke down.
Homicide surprised the world champ with a cutter center ring for two, but as he went for the Cop Killer, an O’Connor Bridge would lead to three.
Following Zack Sabre Jr.’s narrow victory over Tom Lawlor in DC, TMDK took on Team Filthy in Philadelphia. Lawlor’s crew of Royce Isaacs and Jorel Nelson both got caught by the referee with some potential weapons secreted away in their ring gear, but weaponry had little match for TMDK tekkers early.
Nelson’s power would open the door on a triple team to Shane Haste and Bad Dude Tito, Isaacs walking ZSJ around the ring in suplex position before getting dropped on the floor to boot. Team Filthy stayed in charge until a stunning superplex from Haste brought ZSJ inside. Picking up where they left off, Sabre and Lawlor exchanged holds before powerhouses Isaacs and Tito clubbed away at one another. A trio of surround sound submissions from TMDK delighted Philly, but a chaotic match continued on past the 15 minute mark.
Bodies would fly everywhere, and Tito seemed to be in prime position with the Ride The Lightning, but it would be the NKOTB from Lawlor that ended the bout.
Alex Coughlin and Tracy Williams did battle in the first ever ROH Pure Rules match in an NJPW ring. Williams had an early advantage as he found a cravate on Williams, but was countered by the powerful Android who found a painful bow and arrow. Williams appeared to have the slight advantage in raw technique, but Coughlin would muscle Hot Sauce down, and transitioned to strikes with a European Uppercut at the five minute mark.
An agonising Gory Special like maneuver from Coughlin would be stopped by a Williams suplex, and a front chancerie saw the Android fade. The circuits still fired for Coughlin though, and a short powerbomb was there, as was an incredible suplex from seated position. Williams replied with a crossface but Coughlin powered out once more, drawing a huge ‘this is awesome’ chant. A German suplex followed shortly afterward for three.
The opening match of the evening saw the odd tag couple of Kevin Knight and Delirious facing Volador Jr. and El Desperado. The electric crowd in Philly warmly received some athletic exchanges for Knight and Volador, and some cultural (?) exchange for Delirious and Desperado, the veteran Delirious eventually taking control of Desperado.
After Desperado got free to Volador, the luchador took down both his foes in athletic form but got rocked by Knight’s famed sky high dropkick. Knight took down Despe with a top rope frankensteiner as well, setting Delirious for Shadows Over Hell and a last second break; Pinche Loco scored instead on Delirious for three.
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