Ring Of Honor
Date: August 15, 2024
Location: Esports Stadium Arlington, Arlington, Texas
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman
We’re getting closer to the end of the Texas engagement and odds are that means more from some combination of Dustin Rhodes/Sammy Guevara/the Von Erichs. In theory that is designed to cater to the local crowd, but as usual, it’s a case of the same people being on the show a good bit too often. Let’s get to it.
Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.
Earlier today, Paul Wight talked about how Ring Of Honor is on fire. Taya Valkyrie and Johnny TV come in, with the latter asking for a World Title shot against Mark Briscoe. Sure.
Opening sequence.
We run down the card.
Ring Of Honor World Title: Mark Briscoe vs. Johnny TV
TV, with Taya Valkyrie, is challenging. Briscoe grabs the arm to start and the ensuing armbar sends TV straight over to the ropes. TV’s headlock works a bit better but Briscoe enziguris his way out of trouble. Back up and TV knocks him down into the corner before taking it outside to keep up the beating. TV grabs the chinlock back inside before switching to a Shining Wizard for two.
Some kicks to the face put Briscoe down again but he fights up and hits a quick missile dropkick. TV is knocked outside for a running dropkick through the ropes, leaving Taya to block the Blockbuster. That’s enough for an ejection, setting up the Blockbuster to give Briscoe two back inside. TV’s flipping neckbreaker sets up Starship Pain for two and they both need a breather. A double clothesline leaves both of them down again before they slug it out. Briscoe gets the better of things and hits the Jay Driller to retain at 9:05.
Rating: C+. What is there to say here? The match came and went with no story or build and Briscoe won. It’s nice to have the champion around and actually defending the title, but there is only so much you’re going to get out of a match being made with the backstory of “hey I want a title shot”. TV hasn’t exactly been on a roll around here (he beat Fuego del Sol and…that’s it) but he gets a title shot anyway. That’s how ROH works though and it explains a lot of why the show is kind of a mess.
We look at Robbie Eagles beating Darien Bengston last week. Now he wants a TV Title match. The title match is on tonight, marking the second title match with a one match winning streak earning a title shot with the challenger just asking for a shot. That’s….something.
Blake Christian vs. Lio Rush
Christian rolls him up for two to start and cuts off Rush’s signature misdirection. Rush knocks him outside instead for a bottom rope Asai moonsault, only for Christian to kick him in the head back inside. They’re already back on the floor, with Christian driving Rush’s arm into various hard things.
Back in and Christian plants him down on the arm for two but Rush slips out of the armbar. A spinning kick to the head rocks Christian but he’s right back with a superkick. The springboard 450 misses so Rush kicks him down again, only to come up holding his arm. Christian sends him outside for a Tombstone on the floor, followed by a springboard 450 back inside….for two, because of course. Rush is right back up with the springboard Stunner for the fast pin at 9:47.
Rating: C+. The action was fun but my goodness that near fall off the Tombstone and 450 took me out of everything. If you’re going to do that, have it finish Rush off. If Rush is going to win, don’t do those spots back to back. Why a Tombstone on the floor isn’t the finish in the second match on the show (or even taking place whatsoever) is beyond me, but logic doesn’t often have a lot of room in some of these matches.
We look at Athena and Billie Starkz stealing last week’s main event over Queen Aminata and Red Velvet.
Here are Athena and Starkz (the latter who seems to be limping) for a chat. Athena introduces herself and tells Starkz to do some situps before saying Lexi Nair is her Minion Bestie. Nair isn’t here training because she didn’t lost Athena’s Women’s TV Title. She is on her way to becoming the longest reigning champion in ROH history…and here is Abadon to scare Athena and Starkz off.
Mark Briscoe, with Tomohiro Ishii, isn’t happy with his loss to the Beast Mortos. That means Mortos is getting a title shot because the word of the day is recapitulation. He’s getting the match made.
Katsuyori Shibata vs. Ariya Daivari
Before the match, Daivari says Shibata is only good at wrestling but he’s good at every sport, including dressage! Shibata wastes no time in pulling him down into the Figure Four, which is quickly broken up. Instead Shibata knocks him outside, where Daivari gets in a posting to take over.
Back in and Daivari stomps away in the corner, setting up the chinlock. That’s broken up and Shibata fights out of the corner, setting up a half butterfly suplex for two. Daivari drops him for a change and hits the Magic carpet Splash for two. Shibata gets in the headbutt but Tony Nese trips him up, earning the big boot back down. A claw into the cross armbreaker makes Daivari tap at 6:34.
Rating: C. This was a way to get Shibata out there and have him beat up a lower level guy. That’s something we’ve seen a few times now and it wasn’t anything special, but there is something to be said about seeing the Premiere Athletes get beaten down. Not a bad match, but nothing that you really needed to see.
The MxM Collection is happy to be here when Maria Kanellis and Griff Garrison interrupt. Maria wants to turn them into a trio but Garrison grabs their fingers rather than doing the tip touch. Panicking ensues.
Harley Cameron vs. Viva Van
Cameron knees away at the ribs to start but misses a running basement version. Van takes her down by the leg but gets reversed into a bodyscissors. That’s reversed as well with Van grabbing a Rocking Horse, only to get taken down and punched in the face. Back up and Van strikes away but Eat Defeat into a Backstabber gives Cameron two. Van is sweeps the leg but gets knocked down again, setting up a running knee to give Cameron the win at 5:10.
Rating: C. Cameron feels like one of the next projects around here and it’s only kind of working. She’s not someone who is standing out for the most part and while she has some star power, it’s not like she’s really doing anything above the rest. This was a perfectly decent match, but Cameron is going to need more.
Serpentico vs. Griff Garrison
For Serpentico’s mask and Maria Kanellis is here with Garrison. Serpentico dives on him to start and whips Garrison into the barricade over and over. Some chops have Garrison in more trouble but Maria cuts off a charge, allowing Garrison to drop Serpentico onto the steps. Another whip into the steps has Serpentico down again before they go inside for the first time. Serpentico gets whipped into the corner for two and a torture rack powerbomb gets two. Garrison picks him up but Serpentico collapses, only to beg the referee to not stop it.
A spinning forearm drops the referee by mistake and Maria sends Garrison a chair. Said chair is wedged in the corner and here is Angelico to yell at Maria. Serpentico is back up and sends Garrison into the chair, setting up a low blow with another chair. There’s still no referee so the rather delayed cover gets two. They slug it out from their knees until Garrison kicks him in the face. Garrison rips off the mask, revealing ANOTHER MASK. A jumping Downward Spiral sends Garrison into a downward spiral, setting up a frog splash to give Serpentico the pin at 7:31.
Rating: C+. And it’s over right? The feud has been going on for months and running around in a huge circle so this has to be it yes? Serpentico got his win and his mask back and the feud should be over. It’s been a feud built around low level tag teams that kept going months after it should have ended and this is as perfect of an ending as it can have so let it be over.
Athena is NOT happy with the implication that she is scared of Abadon.
Anthony Henry/Beef vs. Dante Leon/Vinnie Massaro
Henry and Leon start things off with Henry working on the arm and hitting a running shoulder. Massaro comes in so it’s off to Beef, because of course his name is Beef. Massaro gets knocked outside and Leon is run over, setting up some running crossbodies. Henry’s bridging German suplex finishes Leon at 2:33.
Lee Moriarty vs. Action Andretti
Non-title Proving Ground match under Pure Rules, meaning if Andretti wins or lasts the ten minute time limit, he gets a future title shot. Moriarty takes him down for an armbar and Andretti uses his first rope break in less than thirty seconds. The Border City Stretch makes Andretti use his second break in just over a minute but Andretti is back up with a knockdown. A springboard spinning moonsault gets two on Moriarty, who fires off some knees to the ribs.
Moriarty stays on the arm, including an abdominal stretch with a wristlock at the same time. That’s enough to burn off Andretti’s final rope break but he does start the comeback with a backbreaker into a neckbreaker. Moriarty sends him to the apron for a right hand, only to miss a charge and get taken down with an Arabian press. A springboard clothesline gives Andretti two back inside and he grabs a half crab. Moriarty uses his first rope break and puts on the Border City Stretch. The ropes don’t help Andretti and he taps at 6:23.
Rating: B-. They didn’t have a lot of time here but it told a story of Moriarty knowing the rules better than Andretti, who burned through the rope breaks so fast and then didn’t have one when he needed it. That’s more than you usually get in a match like this and it kept things more interesting. Nice match here and one of the better things on the show thus far.
Post match Moriarty offers a handshake but walks away rather than give one.
We look at Leyla Hirsch beating Diamante at Death Before Dishonor.
Hirsch is proud of being such a great fighter and is ready to show everyone how legit she is.
TV Title: Atlantis Jr. vs. Robbie Eagles
Eagles is challenging and flips over him to start. A hard shot to the face gives Atlantis two but Eagles is back up to knock him to the floor for a running flip dive. Back in and a basement dropkick gives Eagles two, followed by a spinwheel kick. Eagles goes for the mask (as is required in every match with a masked man around here) but Atlantis hits a superkick. A modified Tombstone into a wheelbarrow suplex gives Atlantis two but a frog splash misses.
Eagles pulls him into the Ron Miller Special (that wacky leglock), sending Atlantis over to the ropes. Back up and a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker plants Atlantis but the knee is damaged again. They trade rollups for two each until Eagles puts him down, only to miss a 450. Atlantis’ knee is fine enough to pull him up into something like a torture rack to retain at 9:34.
Rating: B-. This is a perfect example of why I have trouble getting into this show. Counting this one, Eagles has had two matches in ROH (in this run) and Atlantis has had four. With a handful of matches between the two of them, I’m going to need a bit more of a reason to be interested besides “here are two cool people, they’re fighting over a title”. The match had practically no build and the wrestlers are just a step above being strangers around here. That doesn’t make things interesting for me and the wrestling wasn’t exactly blowing the roof off the place. If ROH can get away from that style, it would be a lot better show.
Paul Wight announces that Beast Mortos is getting his World Title shot next week. Tony Nese interrupts and says the Premiere Athletes should get a title shot. Wight says if Nese can beat Lio Rush, they’ll talk about title shots.
Six Man Tag Team Titles: Dustin Rhodes/Von Erichs vs. Cage Of Agony
Rhodes and the Von Erichs are defending. Kaun grabs Ross’ arm to start and they trade some takedowns. It’s off to Marshall so the Von Erichs can dropkick the Gates out to the floor. Back in and Kaun hits a hard clothesline to drop Marshall and take over, with Cage coming in to fire off the chops.
That doesn’t last long as Marshall gets over for the tag off to Ross, who is tripped down by Cage. The double powerbomb puts Ross down again and Liona grabs the nerve hold. Ross is back up to send him into the corner and it’s off to Dustin to pick up the pace. Cross Rhodes gets two on Cage with Liona making the save as everything breaks down. Dustin reverses an F5 into a Canadian Destroyer on Cage…and the Dark Order and Undisputed Kingdom runs in to jump the champs for the DQ at 9:01.
Rating: C. Of course they did. Of course that’s the way this show ends because WE’RE IN TEXAS so Dustin and the Von Erichs are suddenly the most important people on the show. We have to have the Dark Order in there too because we have to have Six Man Titles and even though the Dark Order is a bunch of losers, they keep getting involved with the champions because WE’RE IN TEXAS and the Texas wrestlers have to be on every single show. I’m sick of seeing these same people on the show every week and now we’re going to see it even more because these titles just have to exist.
Post match the beatdown is on and Sammy Guevara runs in for the failed save. Angelico and Serpentico run in and get beaten down as well as the villains wreck everything to end the show.
Overall Rating: C-. And this is what I was afraid of with Ring Of Honor getting its own shows during the residency. The show was back to the old style of “here’s a bunch of stuff, there’s no important reason for a lot of it but here is more, more, more”. The wrestling wasn’t particularly good in a lot of places and while I do like some vague attempts at continuity, so much of this show felt like it was put together on a napkin from a list of people available that weekend.
As usual, it could have been cut in half and made far better, but why do that when you can just cram in more matches with the same people we see every week? Including Dustin and the Von Erichs, because in case it wasn’t made clear, they’re from TEXAS and that means they need to be on every show in TEXAS. This show wasn’t horrible, but dang it was one of the least fun watches I’ve had in a good while.
Results
Mark Briscoe b. Johnny TV – Jay Driller
Lio Rush b. Blake Christian – Springboard Stunner
Katsuyori Shibata b. Ariya Daivari – Cross armbreaker
Harley Cameron b. Viva Van – Running knee
Serpentico b. Griff Garrison – Frog splash
Anthony Henry/Beef b. Dante Leon/Vinnie Massaro – German suplex to Leon
Lee Moriarty b. Action Andretti – Border City Stretch
Dustin Rhodes/Von Erichs b. Cage Of Agony via DQ when Dark Order interfered
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