By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
ROH and NJPW’s G1 Supercard Pre-Show
Aired live on Facebook Watch and FITE TV
New York, New York at Madison Square Garden
Ring of Honor ring announcer Bobby Cruise stood in the ring and introduced the first two entrants in the Honor Rumble match. He noted that Kenny King requested to be the first entrant… The broadcast team was Ian Riccaboni, Kevin Kelly, and Colt Cabana…
1. The Honor Rumble match. The ring has ROH turnbuckles in two corners, and NJPW turnbuckle pads in the other two corners. The first entrant was Kenny King and the second entrant was Minoru Suzuki. The New Japan Pro Wrestling ring announcer handled the introductions of the NJPW talent.
The third entrant was Cheeseburger. Eli Isom and Ryan Nova walked to the ring with Cheeseburger. Riccaboni noted that Cheeseburger had been a finalist in a New Japan Rumble, but he conceded that the third entry spot was a tough draw. Suzuki and King no-sold Cheeseburger’s chops. Suzuki knocked him down with a big elbow.
The fourth entrant was Beer City Bruiser. There wasn’t much time between Cheeseburger and Bruiser’s entrances.
The fifth entrant was Sho of Roppongi Vice. The wrestlers punched and kicked.
The sixth entrant was Shingo Takagi. Kelly noted that Takagi hasn’t been pinned or submitted in NJPW since arriving in October.
The seventh entrant was Bushi. Riccaboni noted that he was the second of two entrants from Los Ingobernables in the match. Cabana emphasized that the only way to be eliminated was by going over the top rope, meaning pins wouldn’t count as they do in New Japan Rumbles.
The eighth entrant was Yoh of Roppongi 3K. So both members of R3K were in the match and there were no eliminations at this point.
The ninth entrant was Shaheem Ali. Beer City Bruiser was eliminated as Ali was headed to the ring.
The tenth entrant was Rhett Titus. Titus was Drake Wuertz tan in the face and worked his bodybuilder gimmick.
The 11th entrant was Leon St. Giovanni. The broadcast team noted that LSG was wearing New York Mets inspired gear.
The 12th entrant was Ryusuke Taguchi. Taguchi brought his phone to the ring and filmed as he made his entrance.
The 13th entrant was Will Ferrara. Ferrara’s tag partner Titus hugged him. Ferrara shoved him and they fought one another.
The 14th entrant was Chase Owens. That’s 14 entrants in 16 minutes, so it’s new entries roughly every 30 seconds.
The 15th entrant was Rocky Romero. Romero and Taguchi teased fighting after wrestling one another at Rev Pro the day before. Instead, Taguchi ran traffic while Romero threw a bunch of running clotheslines on various people. RP3 joined in with their manager, then other wrestlers joined in. Bushi was eliminated by Romero.
The 16th entrant was Brian Milonas. Correction, he’s not listed as “Brawler” Milonas. The new named helped, as he eliminated LSG and Ali.
The 17th entrant was Bad Luck Fale. Fale eliminated Show and Yoh. Milonas also tossed Cheeseburger over the top rope, but Isom and Nova caught him. Fale pulled Isom and Nova into the ring, then clotheslined them back to ringside.
The 18th entrant was Jonathan Gresham. Fale eliminated Titus.
The 19th entrant was Tracy Williams. Another wrestler was eliminated, but I didn’t catch who it was (sorry, this is absolute chaos to keep up with).
The 20th entrant was Yoshi-Hashi. Riccaboni said they were bringing out the big guns at MSG. Taguchi was eliminated.
The 21st entrant was PJ Black. Ferrara was eliminated. Owens was eliminated moments later.
The 22nd entrant was Jushin Liger. The legend received the biggest pop of the match and quickly eliminated Milonas.
The 23rd entrant was TK O’Ryan. Riccaboni said The Kingdom could could control the ROH Title picture if Matt Taven wins the title tonight and O’Ryan were to win this match.
The 24th entrant was Vinny Marseglia. Back to back Kingdom members. They teamed up to eliminate Tracy Williams.
The 25th entrant was Delirious. Yep, the ROH booker is in the match. I can’t blame him for wanting to work MSG.
The 26th entrant was Tomohiro Ishii. I love Ishii, but I was hoping for back to back bookers with Gedo just for the hell of it.
The 27th entrant was Toru Yano. Riccaboni said he believes it will be NJPW stars from this point forward. Yano approached the broadcast table instead and swapped spots with Colt Cabana.
The new 27th entrant was Colt Cabana. Chris Charlton is seated next to Kelly, but he hasn’t spoken yet. Yano was asked why he didn’t want to compete. He said he didn’t know. They set him up to say that it’s because Cabana is his friend.
The 28th entrant was Hirooki Goto. Romero and Yoshi-Hashi were eliminated separately. A group of wrestlers eliminated Fale.
The 29th entrant was King Haku. A loud “Haku” chant broke out. Kelly said Haku had to be considered the favorite. The broadcast team played up the idea that the three entrants in the ROH Title match had to be worried about the possibility of Haku getting a title shot. Haku applied a Tongan death grip. Yano ran in to help Cabana.
The 30th entrant was Great Muta. A loud “holy shit” chant broke out. A very cool surprise for the final spot.
Muta worked over Delirious and eliminated him quickly. Suzuki eliminated Cabana. Gresham was eliminated. Fans popped as Ishii and Suzuki exchanged blows in the middle of the ring. Suzuki applied an armbar over the ropes. Ishii broke it and clubbed Suzuki, who fell to the mat to be eliminated just before the 40:00 mark. Cheeseburger was eliminated. O’Ryan and Marseglia eliminated Haku. The duo also eliminated Ishii.
The final four (unless someone is hiding) were Liger, Muta, O’Ryan, and Marseglia. Liger eliminated Marseglia, then Muta eliminated O’Ryan, so the match came down to Liger and Muta, which drew some “holy shit” and “this is awesome” chants.
Sure enough, Kenny King ran in and eliminated both legends to win the match.
Kenny King won the Honor Rumble in 43:30 to earn a future ROH Title shot.
After the match, Muta sprayed mist at King. Muta left the ring and let Liger take his bows while the fans chanted “thank you, Liger.” The broadcast team closed out the pre-show. The main show will start at 6:30CT/7:30ET…
Powell’s POV: That finish didn’t exactly put the “honor” in Honor Rumble. I was hoping they were going to give Liger one more title match at some point before he retires at Wrestle Kingdom in January. It’s worth noting that the stage and big screen look really good. The crowd is not mic’d particularly well, though. Check out my coverage of the main show in a separate story on the main page.
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