ROH Final Battle 2015 Preview and Predictions

Best preview on the planet.

Giving their thoughts and predictions on what to expect from the PPV are members of the site @JoeyOnEarth, @TimWelcomed and @TomBlargh.

Cheeseburger vs. “Brutal” Bob Evans in a pre-show YouTube match

Joey:

I’ve found a lot of people talking about this being the match of the night on twitter and I’ve rolled my eyes but then I think about it. If Final Battle were still in New York, I probably would buy a ticket just to see Cheeseburger beat the shit out of Bob Evans. I love Cheeseburger and he is the main reason I may consider staying up for Wrestle Kingdom.

Interest Level: 10/10
Prediction: Cheeseburger wins.

Tim:

It’s kind of wild but I finds this to be one of the best built-up matches on the card. I feel like it has been going on forever. I enjoy Cheeseburger a good bit and I’m actually looking forward to what I hope is these guys… FINAL BATTLE.

Interest Level: 6/10
Prediction: Cheeseburger wins.

Tom:

I haven’t watched any ROH for over a year and, as a result, I feel extremely well-equipped to preview this sensational show.

I like Cheeseburger a lot. What’s he up to these days? Is he having fun? When did he and Brutal Bob have a falling out? Is this show seriously $34.99?

Interest Level: 7/10
Prediction: Cheeseburger has a great time and everyone is happy.

Young Bucks vs. All Night Xpress vs. The Briscoes in a #1 contenders match for the tag titles

Joey:

You know ROH is NJPW’s NXT when there’s a multi-team tag match on each PPV. The action should be fine but I’ve become desensitized to these 3-4 team matches. It’s kind of like the six-man tag matches on Raw. Enough is enough. That being said, it will be fun to see the Young Bucks do battle with ANX again. Hopefully there’s a dual duel.

Interest Level: 7/10
Prediction: Young Bucks win.

Tim:

I still enjoy The Young Bucks but I find myself growing tired of their shtick. This is the second time I’ve gone through this with them but they managed to draw me back in. I get that it’s a money-maker so whatever but I’d love to see them evolve a bit more at some point. ROH is pretty boring to me nowadays but I do keep up with it enough and watch their big shows. This should be a fun match but I don’t really care too much about it outside of that. I should be way more excited that ANX is back together than I am. The Briscoes and Young Bucks have developed a great chemistry and that should be enough to pull this match through.

Interest Level: 5/10
Prediction: Young Bucks win.

Tom:

So is Jay Briscoe no longer a singles competitor? Okay. Cool. I wonder if things are awkward between Rhett Titus and Kenny King or if they’re still great mates. I would hope that the Young Bucks win this,

EDITOR’S NOTE:

Interest Level: X/10
Prediction: C

Silas Young vs. Dalton Castle

Joey:

I watch a little less ROH these days than I usually do but I still watch enough to know what’s going on. The segments and skits with “The Boys” becoming “Men” with Silas Young have been hilarious. I like that Young is completely a comedic character now. That “Real Man” gimmick is so outdated that it has to be a laugh. For the match, these two have had matches on the last few ROH PPVs and it’s never kept my interest, sadly.

Interest Level: 3/10
Prediction: Silas Young wins.

Tim:

This has been the main reason I’ve been watching their TV as of late but I’m not really looking forward to the actual match. This has been pretty funny with Silas Young trying to turn The Boys into “real men.” Normally this kind of thing would have me rolling my eyes but there’s a certain tongue-in-cheek vibe I have gotten from it plus I can see it all coming back around with The Boys helping Dalton Castle win this match. It hasn’t perfect been perfect by any means but better than most things on ROH TV. Dalton Castle is such a good character but he does absolutely nothing for me when it comes to watching him wrestle. I’m hoping he continues to grow in the ring because I really want to be into him. Silas Young is alright… I guess. I just haven’t seen these two work together in an intriguing way yet and I’m not even sure that is possible.

Interest Level: 2/10
Prediction: Dalton Castle wins.

Tom:

CONTENT

Interest Level: X/10
Prediction: C

Moose vs. Michael Elgin

Joey:

There was a time when Moose was predicted to be the challenger for the world title at Final Battle but he’s here. ROH has put Moose on the back-burner to once again push Roderick Strong and Michael Elgin as the top faces due to slight online hype behind them. Why go all the way with a new star when you can make a t-shirt with an ironic hashtag 20 people use as an inside joke on Twitter?

Interest Level: 6/10
Prediction: Michael Elgin wins.

Tim:

This could be a good battle of big men. I’m still not that into Elgin and Moose should be closer to the *strap. He’ll totally get set back here even more with a loss to Elgin but that’s what I see happening. OH WELL.

*=Cool lingo for “championship belt.” I invite you all to try this out.

Interest Level: 6/10
Prediction: Michael Elgin wins.

Tom:

CONTENT

Interest Level: X/10
Prediction: C

Roderick Strong vs. Bobby Fish for the ROH TV Championship

Joey:

good workr8

Interest Level: 6/10
Prediction: Roderick Strong wins.

Tim:

I enjoy Bobby Fish. Roderick Strong has been a great worker over the last year. Should be a good match. I’m not invested in it otherwise. ROH!

Interest Level: 5/10
Prediction: Roderick Strong wins.

Tom:

CONTENT

Interest Level: X/10
Prediction: C

Alex Shelley, ACH and Matt Sydal vs. Chris Sabin, Christopher Daniels and Kazarian

Joey:

This match interests me. It could be highly entertaining or disappointing. There’s a lot of variables in play here. I still love Sydal and Daniels. I have little to no interest in Kazarian and ACH. I will always care about Sabin and Shelley interaction. That’s the main appeal. An actual story I’m interested in seeing play out.

Interest Level: 7/10
Prediction: ACH, Alex Shelley and Matt Sydal wins.

Tim:

I’m most excited about this because of Sabin and Shelley. They’re my favorite tag team of all time and it was really cool to see them stand in the ring together again as I was not really expecting that to go down. They make great opponents for each other. Matt Sydal is usually a hoot to watch. Christopher Daniels still has his moments of greatness. Kazarian seems like dead weight but Daniels is smart to keep him around for when Vex Temper hits it big on the music scene with their raw rock music that’ll leave you ready to hit the highway on your gnarly hog. ACH is kind of just around nowadays, isn’t he? Hopefully he’ll actually start moving forward one day. He’s in a good place being in the ring with these five.

Interest Level: 9/10
Prediction: Alex Shelley, ACH, and Matt Sydal win.

Tom:

CONTENT

Interest Level: X/10
Prediction: C

The Kingdom vs. War Machine for the ROH Tag Team Championship

Joey:

Matt Taven’s hair and Hanson’s beard will get tangled and things will get awkward.

Interest Level: 6/10
Prediction: War Machine wins.

Tim:

This is the most ROH.

Interest Level: 4/10
Prediction: War Machine wins.

Tom:

CONTENT

Interest Level: X/10
Prediction: C

Kyle O’Reilly vs. Adam Cole

Joey:

I was hoping this would be a Fight Without Honor. I don’t care for violence but it feels weird for their big fight to not have something special added. I still like Adam Cole and Kyle O’Reilly. I will wear my Cole autographed Brooklyn Cyclones cap and a mouth-guard during the show to prove a point.

Interest Level: 9/10
Prediction: Kyle O’Reilly wins.

Tim:

I care so very little for Adam Cole nowadays and that fact is kind of a downer to think about. Kyle O’Reilly is at least great to watch in the ring. I think these two have a good chemistry so I will say that I’m actually looking forward to seeing them lock-up again. Here’s to hoping something here will renew my interest in Adam Cole. I was a huge fan of his. He has just gotten bit lame and I want to see him grow more and do something different. He has tons of talent. At this rate I’ll probably always remember him as Pre-Tattoo Cole and Post-Tattoo Cole (even though I had already cooled on him a bit before the tattoo). But yeah… the actual match and history of these two is enough to draw me in.

Interest Level: 8/10
Prediction: Adam Cole wins.

Tom:

CONTENT

Interest Level: X/10
Prediction: C

Jay Lethal vs. AJ Styles for the ROH World Championship

Joey:

This match should have been more exciting. NJPW flat out telling us that Jay Lethal and Michael Elgin will be wrestling for the ROH title at Wrestle Kingdom ruins the outcome. The match should be good but it’s hard to care as much about this show knowing the likely finish to the main event of the company’s biggest event of the year.

Interest Level: 6/10
Prediction: Jay Lethal wins.

Tim:

I love me some AJ Styles, folks. Knowing the outcome stinks. There are moments where I really like Jay Lethal. Sure. I’m into this. Why not?

Interest Level: 7/10
Prediction: Jay Lethal wins.

Tom:

CONTENT

Interest Level: X/10
Prediction: C