Ring Of Honor – January 30, 2025: Good Grief This Stuff Is Bad
Ring Of Honor
Date: January 30, 2025
Location: Andrew J. Brady Music Center, Cincinnati, Ohio
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman
We are now on the second hundred episodes of the show and that means we are likely going to see a lot of the same things over and over. That tends to be the case around here, but what matters the most is that Komander got to lose again on an AEW show, making ROH feel that unimportant. Let’s get to it.
Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.
We run down the card.
Sammy Guevara vs. Aaron Solo
Guevara flips out of a wristlock to start and dropkicks him out to the floor. That lets Guevara spin into his pose and there’s the big running flip dive to take him down again. Back in and Guevara’s springboard is broken up and a snap suplex gets two. Guevara is back up with a running crossbody and some knees to the head connect for two. They go to the ramp for a slugout and a Canadian Destroyer plants Guevara. Since it’s just a flipping piledriver on the ramp, Guevara is right back with the GTH for the win 58 seconds later at 6:42.
Rating: C. This was a fine enough match but at the same time it was also ice cold. You have half of the Tag Team Champions against a jobber to the stars for a few minutes and that is only going to get you so far. Then again, I’ll take this over more of the SONS OF TEXAS, who are still a thing due to reasons.
Queen Aminata vs. Allysin Kay
Aminata does her mock hip shaking to start and gets rolled up to start. Kay knocks her down and hammers away in the corner, setting up the cross arm choke. Aminata fights up and hits a running knee in the ropes. The big headbutt gives Aminata the pin at 4:45.
Rating: C. Another decent enough match here but Aminata continues to be the same person she has been for months now. There just isn’t much to her and while she is fine in the ring, she hasn’t moved up the card in a good while. Other than that, just another short match here, making it a perfectly normal ROH match.
We look at Kazuchika Okada beating Komander on Collision. Just in case you forgot about it.
Lee Johnson vs. Komander
Non-title Proving Ground match, meaning if Johnson (with EJ Nduka) wins or lasts the ten minute time limit, he gets a future title shot. Johnson takes him down to start and seems rather cocky early on. Some headlock takeovers have Komander in more trouble and a running shoulder drops him again. Back up and Komander kicks him to the floor, where Nduka breaks up the attempted dive.
That lets Johnson send him into the barricade, only to get knocked off the top. A high crossbody gives Komander two but Johnson is right back with a Death Valley Driver. Komander is back with a sunset bomb but his ribs are banged up with a minute left. A springboard splash gives Komander two with thirty seconds left. Johnson falls out to the floor and time runs out at 9:55 (close enough).
Rating: C+. Does Komander owe Tony Khan money or something? He loses to Okada on Collision and then goes to a draw here. I’m not sure how smart that really is, but it’s not like the TV Title has been treated as anything important before. Maybe just try to make it look good every so often?
Serpentico vs. Brandon Cutler
Serpentico shoulders him down to start and they trade some quick near falls for two each. A rather big armdrag staggers Serpentico, who sends him into the corner without much effort. Cutler misses a dive off the top and some chops, to the front and back, have him in trouble. Back up and a tornado DDT lets Cutler take his jacket off, setting up a top rope double stomp to the back of the head. Serpentico is back up with a running cutter into a frog splash for the pin at 6:25.
Rating: C. This is about as low level of a match as you can get and that didn’t make for the best match when we’re about forty minutes into the show and there hasn’t been much interesting. It’s just hard to get interested in this, even if it was a match built around a feud that started on Dark: Elevation years ago. That’s all we have here and I guess it works here?
From March 9, 2023 (and from a previous review).
TV Title: Samoa Joe vs. Tony Deppen
Joe is defending and works on the wrist to start. For some reason Deppen strikes away, earning himself a beating in the corner. Deppen fights back though and hits a running corner dropkick. A knee gives Deppen two more but Joe Rock Bottoms him out of the corner. Joe blasts him with a clothesline though and the MuscleBuster retains the title at 5:26.
Rating: C+. Deppen was trying and they had the action going, but Joe isn’t about to lose to someone who has only made infrequent appearances in his first defense on this show. Joe doesn’t really need to get built up in Ring of Honor again but breaking a bit of a sweat against a former champion is a good thing. Now just get Joe a more serious challenger and we could be getting somewhere.
We look at Daniel Garcia and the Undisputed Kingdom chasing off Shane Taylor Promotions.
The Infantry is happy with the changes that have been coming around here and tell people that ROH now means Run Or Hide.
Blake Christian vs. Evil Uno
Christian gets shoved away to start so he has a lounge on the top rope. A quick trip on the floor doesn’t do much for Christian, who is shouldered down into a nip up. Christian bails outside again and this time Uno runs him down again. Back in and some corner clotheslines have Christian in trouble but he snaps Uno’s arm across the top rope.
A dive through the ropes from the ramp drops Uno again and Christian kicks him in the face. Uno fights up with some clotheslines and a DDT drops Christian again. A brainbuster plants Christian but he kicks Uno down and drops a frog splash for two. Uno’s piledriver gets the same, only for Christian to take him down and hit a 450. The running knee to the back of the head finishes Uno at 8:26.
Rating: C. So the deal is that Christian is really boring and doesn’t make you care about him? Then he has a match where he is rather boring and doesn’t make me care about him? I’m not sure if I’m getting the idea here but at last Christian is someone new. Now just do something important with him already.
Women’s TV Title: Leila Grey vs. Red Velvet
Velvet is defending and grinds away with a headlock to start. A running shoulder drops Velvet and Grey hits a running dropkick to put her down again. They head outside with Velvet sending her into the apron, only to miss a hip shaking chop. Back in and Velvet hammers away, setting up a boot choke in the corner.
The running knees set up a quickly broken seated full nelson so Velvet switches to a chinlock instead. Grey fights out again and hits a running knee in the corner, setting up a dragon sleeper. That’s broken up as well and Velvet hits an Iconoclasm for two. Back up and Velvet hits the flipping faceplant to retain at 8:25.
Rating: C. So this whole match was set up with Grey winning another match and then asking for this match. They then have a pretty nothing eight minute match before Velvet retains, getting her right back where we were a few weeks ago. Nothing to see here, as Grey’s momentum comes to a screeching halt.
Overall Rating: D+. This was on purpose right? I mean, they were trying to have as uninteresting of a match as they could yes? There was no reason to watch any of this and it was one boring star after another out there. Ring Of Honor has its reputation as being bottom of the barrel for a reason and this is a great example of what happened. Another totally skippable show, with the five minute Samoa Joe match being as confusing of a “classic” match as you could have.
Results
Sammy Guevara b. Aaron Solo – GTH
Queen Aminata b. Allysin Kay – Headbutt
Komander vs. Lee Johnson went to a time limit draw
Serpentico b. Brandon Cutler – Frog splash
Blake Christian b. Evil Uno – Running knee to the back of the head
Red Velvet b. Leila Grey – Flipping faceplant
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