In 2017, Ring Of Honor decided to double down with their annual joint shows with New Japan in the United States. In addition to the traditional War of the Worlds Tour in May, a separate Global Wars Tour was set up for the fall.

Last year’s Global Wars Tour featured talents from various top New Japan stables (CHAOS, Bullet Club, Suzuki-gun) and concluded with a big show in Chicago that was headlined by Kenny Omega. This year’s tour doesn’t appear to be quite as big, but it still features very solid cards with a number of New Japan talents.

The main headlines of this year’s Global Wars Tour from New Japan are Los Ingobernables de Japon. Sadly, we won’t be getting SHINGO, but the rest of the stable (Tetsuya Naito, BUSHI, EVIL & SANADA) are out in full force. Juice Robinson and KUSHIDA will also be on the tour from New Japan. The talent lineup isn’t necessarily as high profile as last year (which featured Omega, Minoru Suzuki, Will Ospreay, Killer Elite Squad, and to a lesser extent, YOSHI-HASHI), but it’s still a very good list of talents, and they were put in some interesting matches across this tour.

In terms of how you can watch these shows, all four events will be streamed live on Honor Club, through the multitude of platforms that it’s available on (ROH’s website as well as the ROH App on Apple, Android, and Roku).

In one more important note, these shows are the last set of ROH events before Final Battle on December 14. This means that, aside from the episodes of ROH TV that were taped in Pittsburgh last weekend (most of which will air before Final Battle), these Global Wars shows will be the final event before ROH’s last PPV of 2018.

Global Wars 2018: Night 1
November 7th, 2018
7:30 PM EST
Androscoggin Bank Colisee
Lewiston, Maine

  • Eight-Man Tag – ROH World Champion Jay Lethal, Jonathan Gresham, Chris Sabin, & IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion KUSHIDA vs. Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito, BUSHI, EVIL & SANADA)
  • Christopher Daniels vs. Juice Robinson
  • The Briscoes vs. The Elite (“The Hangman” Adam Page & IWGP United States Champion Cody)
  • Non-Title – ROH World TV Champion Jeff Cobb vs. Cheeseburger
  • Bully Ray & Silas Young vs. The Young Bucks
  • Non-Title – ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Champions The Kingdom (Matt Taven, Vinny Marseglia, & TK O’Ryan) vs. Dalton Castle & The Boys
  • Non-Title – ROH World Tag Team Champions SoCal Uncensored (Frankie Kazarian & Scorpio Sky) vs. The Bouncers (The Beer City Bruiser & Brian Milonas)
  • Flip Gordon vs. Eli Isom

I never would’ve imagined that an ROH event would take place in the state of Maine. That being said, it’s always fun to see promotions run different places. Lewiston, the second largest city in Maine (behind Portland, presumably) will be hosting the first night of this Global Wars Tour, and it’s fair to say that this is the weakest of the four announced lineups. The card is made up mostly of tag team matches (a mix of regular two-on-two matches as well as multi-man tags). There are a couple of a singles bouts, but only one of them has the potential to be really good.

The match that immediately catches my attention as the standout is the main event, which sees Los Ingobernables de Japon (minus SHINGO, who sadly isn’t on this tour) taking on a team led by ROH World Champion Jay Lethal. This should be a very entertaining match, given who’s involved. LIJ work so well together in these multi-man tags, and they have some great opponents to work off of. I’m not sure if this will be spectacular, but I highly doubt this will disappoint.

When it comes to the two-on-two tag team bouts, all three of them stand out in their own unique ways. The Briscoes vs. Cody & Adam Page has the chance to the best of those three, from an in-ring standpoint. These two teams had a very good match back in May (in the main event of the first Honor United event in Edinburgh, Scotland), and I would expect another solid outing from both sides this time around. Meanwhile, Bully Ray & Silas Young vs. The Young Bucks is a bout that really jumps out at me, just because I have no idea what to expect. It could easily be a subpar match (maybe The Young Bucks see it as a night off since they’re facing Bully Ray), but then again, it’s The Young Bucks were talking about. They don’t have bad matches. It’s certainly the most intriguing matches on this card, for better or for worse. Finally, on the tag team front, the SCU duo of Frankie Kazarian & Scorpio Sky take on The Bouncers in a non-title affair. I would keep an eye on the result of this one. This is sort of a home game for Brian Milonas (he’s from New Hampshire), so I could easily see The Bouncers coming out on top to secure a future title shot.

As far as the singles matches go, there’s not much to really talk out. The only one that stands out is Christopher Daniels vs. Juice Robinson. It’s very similar to the main event in that, I don’t think it’ll be amazing, but it should be very good. Seeing Juice Robinson back in ROH is cool, and I’m looking forward to see how he does throughout the tour. As for the other two singles bouts, Jeff Cobb vs. Cheeseburger should be fascinating (to say the least), while Flip Gordon vs. Eli Isom should have a fun little undercard clash.

Global Wars 2018: Night 2
November 8th, 2018
7:30 PM EST
Lowell Memorial Auditorium
Lowell, Massachusetts

  • Four-Corner Survival – ROH World Champion Jay Lethal & Jonathan Gresham vs. Chris Sabin & IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion KUSHIDA vs. The Young Bucks vs. The Kingdom (Vinny Marseglia & TK O’Ryan)
  • “The Hangman” Adam Page vs. Tetsuya Naito
  • Non-Title – ROH World TV Champion Jeff Cobb vs. Christopher Daniels
  • Jay Briscoe vs. ROH World Tag Team Champion Scorpio Sky
  • Non-Title – IWGP United States Champion Cody vs. Mark Briscoe
  • Flip Gordon vs. ROH World Tag Team Champion Frankie Kazarian
  • Bully Ray & Silas Young vs. Los Ingobernables de Japon (EVIL & SANADA)
  • BUSHI vs. Matt Taven
  • Dalton Castle & Juice Robinson vs. The Bouncers (The Beer City Bruiser & Brian Milonas)

This second stop of the tour is where business starts to pick up. While Lowell, Massachusetts got a relatively weaker lineup back in May during the War of the Worlds Tour, they have a much better card this time around. The advertised main event is a Tag Team Four-Corner Survival Match that has the potential to be great. Of course, The Young Bucks are awesome, and should absolutely excel in this environment. Jay Lethal & Jonathan Gresham, along with Chris Sabin & KUSHIDA, are two teams that only got together recently, but they should both be very good in this one. As for The Kingdom, despite the fact that they’re the weakest of the four teams involved, I have full confidence that they’ll hold up their end of the bargain.

While the Tag Team Four-Corner Survival Match is the main event, the match that stands out the most on this card is a G1 Climax caliber singles bout between Adam Page and Tetsuya Naito. If the blocks were put together a little differently in this year’s G1 Climax, then these two could’ve easily met during the tournament. Alas, this is the first time singles clash, and it has the potential to be great. Adam Page had a very strong run in his first G1, and I’m sure he’s going to want to put on an excellent performance here against one of New Japan’s top stars. This is the only singles bout on the tour for Tetsuya Naito, and while you never really know how much effort he’ll put forth when he’s on these ROH tours, I have a feeling that he’ll have his working boots on for this one.

As for the undercard, this show features a lot more singles matches when compared the first stop of the tour in Lewiston. While none of them have the potential to be as great as Adam Page vs. Tetsuya Naito, the majority of them should be really good, at the very least. Christopher Daniels vs. Jeff Cobb, Jay Briscoe vs. Scorpio Sky, Cody vs. Mark Briscoe, Flip Gordon vs. Frankie Kazarian, and even BUSHI vs. Matt Taven all have the potential to deliver on some level. Again, I don’t think any of them will be incredible, but as long as all of them are (at least) solid, we could be in for a very strong undercard.

The card is capped off with two tag teams bouts. Bully Ray & Silas Young are taking on the LIJ team of EVIL & SANADA, while Dalton Castle & Juice Robinson (a perfect pairing) go up against The Bouncers. I doubt that either of these tag team encounters will be outstanding in any way. However, as long as they’re decent, they could serve as a nice addition to what should be a very strong card.


Global Wars 2018: Night 3
November 9th, 2018
7:30 PM EST
Buffalo Riverworks
Buffalo, New York

  • Proving Ground Match – ROH World Champion Jay Lethal vs. Chris Sabin
  • Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito & SANADA) vs. The Young Bucks
  • Non-Title Four-Corner Survival – IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion KUSHIDA vs. Jonathan Gresham vs. Flip Gordon vs. BUSHI
  • Non-Title – ROH World TV Champion Jeff Cobb vs. EVIL
  • Three-Way Tag Team Match – Best Friends (Beretta & Chuckie T) vs. The Briscoes vs. The Elite (“The Hangman” Adam Page & IWGP United States Champion Cody)
  • Juice Robinson vs. Silas Young
  • Dalton Castle vs. TK O’Ryan
  • The Boys vs. The Kingdom (Matt Taven & Vinny Marseglia)

The Buffalo Riverworks (a very cool looking venue for a wrestling show) hosts the third stop of the 2018 Global Wars Tour, which features an eclectic lineup in the upper half of the card. In the main event, Chris Sabin looks to earn a shot at the ROH World Title as he takes on Jay Lethal in a Proving Ground Match. While the match itself doesn’t bother me, I don’t see as the best choice for the main event. It’s a bout that’s straight out of 2006-2007 TNA. Again, I’m sure it’ll be perfectly solid, but I’m not the biggest fan of putting it on last.

A match that absolutely should be the main event is Tetsuya Naito & SANADA vs. The Young Bucks. This has the potential to be one of the best bouts on the entire tour. Of course, SANADA is no stranger to The Young Bucks, and he (along with EVIL) had a series of great bouts during the summer for the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Titles. While we’re getting a different LIJ pairing this time around, this should be a strong contender for match of the night.

When I described this card as being eclectic, I was referring to the fact that we have a mix of different match types scattered throughout this show. There’s a Four-Corner Survival Match (featuring KUSHIDA, Jonathan Gresham, Flip Gordon, & BUSHI) that has the change to be really good. Jeff Cobb vs. EVIL should be a very exciting singles encounter (and it has the potential to be a G1 matchup in 2019 if Cobb participates). Then there’s a three-way tag team bout that also should be pretty solid, considering the three teams involved. It also serves as a preview for one of the bigger singles matches on the final stop of the tour in Toronto.

The last couple of matches on Night 3 aren’t anything spectacular, but they’re fine for the lower portion of the card. Juice Robinson has his only singles match of the tour on this event as he takes on Silas Young. This should be a very fun undercard bout between two very solid performers. The remaining. The rest of the card sees a variety of clashes between Dalton Castle (plus The Boys) and The Kingdom. Castle takes on TK O’Ryan in a singles match, while Matt Taven & Vinny Marseglia take on The Boys. These earlier bouts aren’t entirely exciting, but I’m sure they’ll end up being entertaining.

Global Wars 2018: Night 4
November 11th, 2018
7:30 PM EST
Mattamy Athletic Centre
Toronto, Ontario, Canada

  • ROH World Title – Jay Lethal vs. Kenny King
  • IWGP United States Title – Cody vs. Beretta
  • ROH World Tag Team Titles – SoCal Uncensored (Frankie Kazarian & Scorpio Sky) vs. The Super Smash Bros.
  • “The Hangman” Adam Page vs. Chuckie T
  • Dalton Castle & Juice Robinson vs. Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito & BUSHI)
  • Christopher Daniels vs. Matt Taven
  • The Briscoes vs. Los Ingobernables de Japon (EVIL & SANADA)
  • Flip Gordon vs. Jonathan Gresham

Toronto plays host to the final stop of the 2018 Global Wars Tour, but instead of taking place in the Ted Reeve Arena, this show will be in the Mattamy Athletic Centre (the former Maple Leaf Gardens). This isn’t the first time that ROH has run events here, as they used the venue for All-Star Extravaganza V and All-Star Extravaganza VI in 2013 and 2014, respectively. As of now, this is the only stop on the tour that features title matches. Similar to Night 3 in Buffalo, this shows featured a rather interesting choice for the main event.

Right now, Jay Lethal vs. Kenny King for the ROH World Title is what ROH is currently advertising as the top match. I get that it’s for the top championship in ROH, but I don’t think this should be placed above the IWGP United States Title bout between Cody and Beretta. There’s much more interest in that bout, and there’s a chance that we might see a title change here. I doubt that Kenny King will be winning ROH World Title from Jay Lethal. In terms of quality, Lethal vs. King should be a perfectly fine bout, but it doesn’t have a chance to be as good, or better than, Cody vs. Beretta (and I’m a big fan of Lethal).

The other announced title bout is for the ROH World Tag Team Titles, as Frankie Kazarian & Scorpio Sky of SCU defend their newly won titles against The Super Smash Bros. of Evi Uno & Stu Grayson. It’s cool to see The Super Smash Bros. back in ROH after the incredible tag team encounter they had with longtime rivals The Young Bucks during the War Of The Worlds Tour in May. Based on their performance in that bout, ROH officials granted them a title shot against SCU. While I don’t see this topping the aforementioned SSB/Young Bucks bout from May, this should still be a very strong tag team match. The chances of a title change are unlikely, but I hope that we start seeing The Super Smash Bros. back in the United States sometime soon.

At the moment, the rest of the undercard features a mix of singles and tag team bouts. Much like Night 2 in Lowell, this show has a lot of matches that have a potential to be anywhere from decent, to good, to very good. On the tag team front, The Briscoes vs. EVIL & SANADA has the potential to be a strong tag team encounter, and it’s certainly a dark horse contender for match of the night. Meanwhile, Dalton Castle & Juice Robinson vs. Tetsuya Naito & BUSHI doesn’t quite have the promise that The Briscoes vs. EVIL & SANADA has, but it should still be a pretty fun bout in its own right.

As for the singles matches on the undercard, all of them feature ROH talents, but each of them should be very solid. Christopher Daniels vs. Matt Taven is probably the weakest of that bunch, but it’ll still be a perfectly competent bout. Then there’s Adam Page vs. Chuckie T and Flip Gordon vs. Jonathan Gresham. Both of those matches are really good undercard matchups on paper. If I had to pick one dark horse contender for the best bout of the night, I’d go with Page vs. Chuckie T, but again, I fully expect that both will deliver.