Ring Of Honor TV – July 21, 2021: The Best Show Going Today

Ring of Honor
Date: July 21, 2021
Location: UMBC Event Center, Baltimore, Maryland
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We continue the post Best In The World stretch and for once I’m actually caught up on the show. I’m not sure if we are going to be in the actual fallout period just yet, but it is nice to have the pay per view out of the way. This show could go in a lot of directions and that is not a bad thing. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Dalton Castle doesn’t have time for an interview and leaves. After he is gone, the Foundation is ready for tonight’s eight man tag. Actually hold on a second though, as Jonathan Gresham has a banged up knee. Joe Keys, who is helping look at Gresham’s knee, gets the spot instead. Not quite thinking, Keys slaps the bad knee on the way out.

Brian Johnson is our host this week because Quinn McKay is in action. He begrudgingly runs down the card (while mocking the Foundation and Gresham as much as possible). Johnson doesn’t like Quinn McKay either, though he does think something of Mandy Leon.

Rey Horus vs. Fred Yehi

Horus goes for the hammerlock to start but Yehi pulls the leg to take him down into a standoff. Back up and Horus misses a dropkick, allowing Yehi to try the Koji Clutch, sending Horus bailing. Horus: “It’s too early for that.” We take a break and come back with Yehi missing a charge into the corner, allowing Horus to grab a middle rope armdrag to send Yehi outside. The big dive drops Yehi again in a spot that needed fans. Back in and Horus hits a high crossbody for two, followed by a spinning clothesline.

Yehi small packages him for two, with Horus’ shoulder WAY off the mat at around one. Horus sends him into the corner though and a twisting splash (Yehi: “Oh shoot!”) gets two. Yehi’s boot to the ribs is cut off so he twists Horus’ head for a pretty unique counter. A spinning backfist into a shot to the back of the head sets up the Koji Clutch to make Horus….get over to a rope. Yehi t-bone suplexes him into the corner but Horus runs the corner into a super victory roll for the pin at 9:53.

Rating: B-. These two had some good chemistry and I was having a good time with what they did. Horus can move as well as anyone and Yehi is right there with the technical stuff to balance it out. This is one of the areas where Ring of Honor shines: putting two people in a match and letting them have a bit of time to showcase themselves. Nice stuff here and I liked it more than I would have bet on.

Mandy Leon gets off the phone for an interview. She can’t believe that she has to talk about Quinn McKay, because Mandy is a grown woman who doesn’t need friendships or validation. That makes her different than McKay, who is always trying to prove that she is a good person. McKay talked about the Allure for year and then lost her chance to beat Angelina Love. That’s enough on McKay, and here is Love to agree.

Quinn McKay blames her loss to Angelina Love on inexperience and Mandy Leon. This is her last chance to make it into the Women’s Title tournament and she is tired of being told she will never be a wrestler. Yeah she has been an interviewer for two years, but she and Mandy Leon both started in the Ring of Honor Dojo. They were both backstage interviewers and they both lost their first match, just like McKay. But Leon won’t mention that, because she would rather be Love’s lapdog.

That’s the narrative Leon wants to spin but McKay knows what is under the hair and malice. Leon has a fighting spirit and they have both fought hard to be respected. McKay sees her as a glimmer of what she could be, and this is about who Leon is now vs. who she could be. Come back to the good side and give McKay a fair shot. This was a pretty emotional promo and McKay made it work far better than I would have expected. Not bad.

Mandy Leon vs. Quinn McKay

Angelina Love is with Leon, McKay is in the title tournament if she wins and Maria Kanellis-Bennett is on commentary. McKay actually offers a handshake, using the Genius left hand version. Leon punches her in the face though and knocks her down, allowing Leon to grab a mic and talk down to her a bit. A clothesline gives McKay a breather though and Leon is knocked out to the apron. That earns McKay another shot to the face though and choking on the ropes ensues.

McKay sweeps the legs though and hammers away, setting up a bodyscissors of all things. That’s reversed in a bit of an awkward sequence until Leon counters a neckbreaker. Some hair takedowns send us to a break with McKay in trouble again. Back with McKay being sent to the apron, with Love pulling her out to the floor. Mandy snaps off a running knee to the floor before elbowing her in the face back inside. McKay manages a powerslam but can’t cover so Love gives Leon a quick back rub.

A running seated Blockbuster sets up a trio of neckbreakers for two on Leon as McKay certainly has a target. With that not working, McKay grabs the Tangerine Dream (cobra clutch), drawing Love up for a distraction. That means the referee doesn’t see the tap, which means McKay lets go to yell at said referee. Love slips in the brass knuckles and McKay lifts Leon up for a belly to back suplex, only to get knocked cold for the pin at 7:44.

Rating: C-. The women’s division still isn’t all that great but McKay is someone you could see as a plucky underdog face for a good while. She might not be the future, but at least can be a star for a little while. I don’t believe for a second that this is the end of her chances at being in the tournament, as Ring of Honor seems to be a lot smarter than that.

Maria thinks she should do something about this.

Shane Taylor Promotions vs. Foundation/Joe Keys

This would be Shane Taylor/Soldiers of Savagery/O’Shay Edwards vs. Jay Lethal/Tracy Williams/Rhett Titus/Joe Keys. Before the match, Shane Taylor Promotions says the baddest just got better with Edwards joining up. On the other hand, Keys says he’s ready to step up and show the Foundation what he can do. Edwards takes Keys into the ropes to start and adds a running splash in the corner. Another charge misses though and Keys gets in a few shots to the leg.

A backdrop sends Keys to the apron but he manages a high crossbody for a fast two. Taylor comes in for a high crossbody and tells the Foundation to get their rookie out of here. We take a break and come back with Taylor shoving Lethal, who says he is so sick of Taylor’s mouth. A knee sends Lethal into the corner and Taylor’s eyes are rather scary. Williams comes in to slug it out with Moses, who wants some more.

That’s fine with Williams, who can’t get very far by charging at the monster. A cross armbreaker over the ropes works a bit better, with Williams letting go at four. Titus comes in for an atomic drop/running clothesline combination and it’s off to Lethal. Khan makes a save and gets shoved by Lethal, which has Coleman’s attention. Another Khan distraction lets Moses run Lethal over and it’s time for elbows in the corner.

It’s back to Taylor to hammer on Lethal, who comes back with some forearms. One HARD shot sends Lethal outside though and this time Coleman is singing about how bad that was. We take another break and come back again with Khan having to cut off a hot tag attempt. The Lethal Combination allows the hot tag to Titus, meaning house can be cleaned. Edwards gets belly to belly suplexed into the corner and a top rope knee drop gets two on Moses.

Keys comes back in and manages a heck of a German suplex to plant Moses for two more. Everything breaks down with the Foundation being sent outside, leaving Keys on his own. Keys manages to send Moses outside and tries to fight the other three, only to be taken down by a headbutt. Titus and Williams make the save and clothesline Taylor to the floor. Khan takes a double butterfly suplex (that’s a new one) and Lethal dives onto Moses. Keys dropkicks Taylor down but gets caught in Edwards’ Sky High for the pin at 16:54.

Rating: B. This was another one that was better than I was expecting as both sides worked out well. Keys was a nice surprise and held up well in a cameo role. At the same time, this was a great mini showcase for Edwards, who I’m very glad is finally getting a chance like this. Rather fun main event here and I’m glad to see Shane and pals get a big win.

Overall Rating: B. I’m not sure when it happened, but Ring of Honor might have become the best weekly wrestling show, at least for in-ring action. They still don’t have much in the way of storyline advancement most weeks, but the matches themselves are mostly good. They’re coming off a strong pay per view as well and the fans are going to make it even better. Nice job here, again.

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