We're not done yet! The Bullet Club soars at Death Before Dishonor XV

Ring of Honor's latest pay per view event, Death Before Dishonor XV, has concluded. Las Vegas got a heck of a show, but what else do you expect from North America's finest?

Up-and-comer Donovan Dijack defeated three other men to become the number one contender for the ROH TV Title, after cutting Lio Rush off at the pass with a big boot and a Feast Your Eyes. "The Last Real Man" Silas Young was choked out by New Japan NEVER Openweight Champion Katsuyori Shibata, followed by a kick to the head that left Mr. Mustache out cold. Team CHAOS lost to Team Bullet Club in a six an tag match, with BC's Yujiro scoring the pinfall on the ever-shrugging Toru Yano.

Following Team CHAOS's defeat, Hangman Page tried to hang Yano, only to be halted by Jay Briscoe. This transitioned into an "Anything Goes Grudge Match" between the two. Nice way to go from match to match, ROH. I like it! This was the token blood-and-guts match for the evening, with Hangman Page eventually picking up the win and sliding a noose around Jay Briscoe's neck. Both men gave their all, but this was not an encounter for the faint of heart.

New Japan's Heavywight Champion Kazuchika Okada took on one of ROH's hottest new acts in Dalton Castle. This match had a much lighter tone than the previous one, with Dalton's manservants mimicking Okada and Dalton playing a cowardly Ric Flair-like heel throughout. Okada finishes Castle off with a piledriver and his patented Rainmaker lariat. Fun match; kind of a cool down after the brutal Briscoe/Page match.

Bobby Fish and Mark Briscoe had the most traditional ROH-style match of the evening, right down to the show of respect between the two at the end. Fish retains after a hella fast suplex and a Falcon Arrow. ROH tag champs The Addiction also retained in a triple threat tag match against Naito/Evil and Elgin/Tanahashi. I like the Elgin/Tanahashi team. It's like Mr. Perfect teaming with a Japanese Shawn Michaels. Good Stuff.

And finally, the main event! Adam Cole barely came out on top against Jay Lethal to win the ROH World Title. There were a lot of great spots here, with both men showing an almost palpable animosity for one another. Cole was a nasty heel here, and by the end of the match even I started to wonder if my hate for him was just "wrestling hate" or if I really did hate the person I was seeing on my screen. What really put it over was ROH owner Cary Silkin presenting Cole with the belt; even he looked disgusted. Looks like Lethal is going back to the end of the line. A dark new era dawns in ROH, bay-bay.

Good show. Not the best ROH PPV I've ever seen, but a bad ROH or NJPW show is like the equivalent of a really good WWE show, so as a wrestling nut I sometimes have to adjust my expectations when going from promotion to promotion. I'll be back tomorrow with some last minute Summerslam predictions. As always, I can be found on Twitter (@ChrisBComics) and via e-mail (backissuechris@gmail.com).

Death before dishonor, bay-bay!

Both Ring of Honor and New Japan Pro Wrestling have taken hits in the talent department recently thanks to the WWE's recent injection of new blood into their roster, but neither promotion shows signs of slowing down. Today I'm looking at what the American-based Ring of Honor promotion has in store for us in a week at Death Before Dishonor, and I like what I see.

ROH is anchored by several key talents. Right off the bat you have Jay Lethal, the reigning champ and former top heel in the company. Lethal has been a dominant force for well over a year, securing one title win after another. At the recent Global Wars pay-per-view, Lethal went from hunter to prey when Adam Cole revealed himself as the newest member of The Bullet Club and sabotaged his match with industry vet and podcaster Colt Cabana.

Cole is another one of those "key talents". "Story time with Adam Cole!" always get a huge reaction and when you see "BAY BAY" flash on the screen, signaling his entrance, you know you're in for a good time. Cole is an all around good hand when it comes to his in-ring work. I could see him bouncing off a larger foe in the WWE, but in ROH he's often a down and dirty grappler with a tendency to cut corners. Since aligning with the Bullet Club, he looks to be aiming for Lethal's "top villain" role, but how on Earth can they expect people to boo Cole, especially when he's flanked by fellow fan favorites like The Young Bucks?

Speaking of bullets and clubs, that particular faction is in an interesting place right now, especially considering how many of their heavy hitters have defected to the 'E. They're supposed to be the big bads of the indy wrestling world, but their collective persona is too cool for fans to turn on. That makes Cole's attack on Lethal (where he humiliated him and shaved off his signature braids) all the more important. They're establishing that these guys aren't just "heels", they're genuine shitheels. It'll be interesting to see who the crowd is behind in Las Vegas at Death Before Dishonor.

Moving on down the card to the ROH television title, Mark Briscoe and Bobby Fish are set to square off for the strap at the same show. Both Briscoe and Fish are part of two of ROH's most important tag teams, The Briscoes and ReDRagon, but neither one of them is a stranger to singles competition. As a singles wrestler, Mark has been slowly making his way up the card and this is his chance to bring some gold back to the family farm, especially since that spot on their shelf at home has been vacant ever since his brother Jay dropped the world title a while back.

Fish and his partner Kyle O'Reilly practically were the tag division for ROH in 2014, blowing our collective minds with their double-team attacks and old-school demeanor. Reilly is usually portrayed as the "scrappy" one, so I'm interested to see what Fish brings to the table, considering I haven't seen as much of him as a singles wrestler.

Circling back to the subject of "key talents", both The Briscoes and ReDRagon fit all the criteria. They're solid workers with growing fanbases and the ring psychology of veterans. They can split into singles competitors at any time, and in the case of The Briscoes, are extremely loyal to ROH as a company. Heck, The Briscoes have spent nearly their entire careers flying the honor flag.

The Death Before Dishonor show is only a week away and the card is still evolving, which would normally worry me. Of course, this is ROH we're talking about: the matches will be good, guys you've never heard of from Japan will be there, and somebody will be sporting a shiny blood mask by the end of the night.

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Twitter: @ChrisBComics
E-Mail: backissuechris@gmail.com