Young Bucks win ROH Tag titles, Christopher Daniels might be dead after insane Ladder War match at All-Star Extravaganza VIII

The three-way ladder match for the Ring of Honor (ROH) Tag Team titles had a lot on its figurative shoulders.

Not only was it the sixth Ladder War match in the company’s 14 year history (and first without either Kevin Steen, El Generico or Jay Briscoe), but it was the main event of All-Star Extravaganza VIII. The pay-per-view (PPV) already featured some great action, including the latest highly regarded Dragon Lee vs. Kamaitachi bout earlier in the evening, and a solid tag title match would put ASE8 over as one of the better ROH shows in recent memory.

It was also built mostly as a story about the 46 year old Christopher Daniels and the somewhat controversially long reign of he and his partner Frankie Kazarian as tag champs.

Kind of hard to judge in the moment - and I’m not much of a star ratings guy - but I think it’s a pretty easy call to say Ladder War 6 did its job.

Daniels’ promo set the stage, and the Fallen Angel followed it up with one of the best performances of his storied career. The crowd in Lowell, Massachusetts knew it, too, as “Thank You Daniels” chants closed the show amidst cheers for the new champs.

Yep, the most famous indie tag team - reviled in Japan, beloved in America - the Young Bucks are two-time Ring of Honor World Tag Team champions after an Indy Taker from the top of a ladder put Kaz through a table (many, many tables gave their lives in this match). And, in typical Bucks of Youth style, they could have grabbed the belts before that spot, but decided to do it anyway and then climb back up the ladder together to claim their prize.

There was interference (Kamaitachi showed up to assist the Addiction earlier when it looked like Matt & Nick would take it, but Jay White ran him off - possibly joining Bullet Club?) and it rounded out another Bullet Club kind of night (Adam Cole retained his World title in a solid if unspectacular affair right before the tag title match).

But despite what would have been the same questionable booking decisions on other PPVs over the past year, this was a show that all but the most cynical ROH observers - and I’d count myself as part of that group heading in - would enjoy. The Match of the Year candidate main event was a big part of the reason why. If you’ve become jaded by PG ladder matches, this will be right up your alley. And the Daniels story ensured it wasn’t just a spot-fest.

Congrats to the new champs. Thank you Christopher Daniels for an unforgettable performance (and props to Frankie Kazarian, Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley for great work, as well). Welcome back, ROH - now keep it up... and consider lowering your PPV prices.

Check out all the results from ASE8 here, and be prepared to see a lot of GIFs from this show - especially Ladder War 6 and the latest Lee/Kamaitachi joint.