10 Live Observations From ROH's War Of The Worlds In NYC
Bullet Club versus New Japan versus ROH!
For the third consecutive year, Ring of Honor and New Japan Pro Wrestling ran a joint U.S. tour, bringing the best wrestlers in the world to American shores. Once again, the tour was a success - after a newsworthy Pay-Per-View event, Global Wars, in Chicago, the tour stopped in Dearborn, Michigan, then Toronto, and finally wrapped up in New York City.
The New York show was a thrill for fans and wrestlers alike. Grapples like Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii, and Jushin Liger have main-evented shows in Japan for years, but just as Tokyo is a legendary city for wrestling, so is The Big Apple. The men were clearly excited to be plying their trade in a country where they're getting more and more popular - and in that country's largest and most famous city.
I attended the show at Manhattan's Terminal 5, and while the venue wasn't a great place to hold a wrestling event, the action itself was excellent. There were 10 matches from top to bottom, and many of them reached levels of pulse-pounding excitement. All in all, the show was worthy of the action fans expect from both New Japan and Ring of Honor.
Here are 10 observations from attending War of the Worlds in NYC:
10. Dalton Castle Is Really Strong
If you've never seen Dalton Castle perform, mere words can't do him justice, but I'll try. Castle, "The Party Peacock," struts to the ring like his namesake fowl, wearing a jumpsuit with ornate wings attached, and accompanied by a pair of twink twins called "The Boys." As if that weren't enough, he's also an extremely talented wrestler, as his matches have proven. That total package has made him one of Ring of Honor's most popular stars.
Castle is small (he was announced as weighing 219 pounds, but honestly, he's probably 30 pounds lighter) and not particularly muscular, but he's extremely strong. One of his signature moves is a deadlift German suplex where "The Party Peacock" grabs his opponent in a waistlock, holds him off the ground just a bit, then slowly bridges into the maneuver. Taking an opponent over so slowly - and without help - requires a lot of strength.
At War of the Worlds, Castle took on Lio Rush, Michael Elgin, and Moose in a four-way match. He suplexed Rush, who only weighs about 165 pounds, but then immediately did the move to Elgin, who's 100 pounds heavier than Rush. If that wasn't enough, Moose - who's about 275 - was next. Those displays were enough to draw a "Holy sh*t!" chant from the crowd.