Ring Of Honor
Date: February 26, 2026
Location: H-E-B Center At Cedar Park, Cedar Park, Texas
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

I’m back to the point where I don’t know what to expect from these shows and that’s a weird feeling. There are so many titles around here but a bunch of them are either never defended or defended at random and that makes the shows hard to predict. Maybe it’s different this time around so let’s get to it.

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

Shane Taylor Promotions are ready to win their matches tonight, with Trish Adora promising to end Deonna Purrazzo’s luck.

Opening sequence.

JD Drake vs. Adam Priest

The much bigger Drake easily wins a slugout and shoulders Priest down. Priest’s comeback is cut off in a hurry and Drake drops a leg for a quick two. Drake slowly takes him into the corner for the chops but misses a sitdown splash. Priest throws him down for two but Drake takes him up top, where a Priest’s sunset bomb gets two. Drake gets two more off a Shining Wizard so he tries a spinebuster, only to get countered into a rollup to give Priest the pin at 7:25.

Rating: C. Decent enough match between two people who don’t have much going on, at least when it comes to singles status. Drake has just been floating around for a long time now and while he’s a good hand, there isn’t much that makes him stand out. Priest still feels like someone with potential, but his smaller size is going to be a lot to get around.

We look at Skyflight beating TMDK last week in a six man main event.

Frat House vs. TMDK

Garrison slugs away at Tito in the corner to start and a clothesline connects as well. A flapjack/running boot combination drops Tito for two but it’s off to Haste. That means a release Falcon Arrow to Garrison and everything breaks down. Tito takes out Garrison and Haste’s fireman’s carry swung into a spinebuster finishes Karter at 3:37.

Rating: C+. It was a fast paced tag match and TMDK looked dominant, which is why you bring them in for a match against a team like the Frat House. I can’t imagine TMDK sticks around but having them in a two match series like this is fine. Not a great match, but it was entertaining while it lasted.

Women’s TV Title: Zayda Steel vs. Red Velvet

Steel, with her one match winning streak after losing everything else, is challenging. Velvet snaps off some armdrags into an armbar to start before missing some right hands. They trade near falls off some small packages until Steel’s Backstabber out of the ropes gets two. An exchange of running shots in the corner goes to Velvet, who grabs a powerbomb for two more. Steel is back with a spinwheel kick for two but Velvet’s Iconoclasm gets the same. A TKO gives Steel two more and she can’t believe the kickout. Velvet is right back with a spinning kick to the face to retain at 6:02.

Rating: C. This didn’t have much of a story to it as they were just kind of trading moves back and forth until Velvet got the pin. Steel still feels like an interesting prospect, but she needs to string together some wins to shake off the early losing streak. There wasn’t much of a reason for her to get a title shot here, but I’ll take it over the title sitting on the shelf.

Post match respect is shown.

TMDK is happy with their win but they get jumped by Shane Taylor Promotions.

Grizzled Young Veterans/Big Bill/Bryan Keith vs. CJ Tino/Richie Slade/Che Cabrera/Dom Kubrick

Isla Dawn is here with the villains. Keith throws his gear at Tino to start and shoulders him down for two. Slade comes in and gets his arm twisted, allowing Drake to come in as well. Drake lets Slade forearm away to no avail before Gibson unloads with forearms of his own in the corner. Slade slips out of a slam though and hands it off to the muscular Guevara (Latino Meat, which made me chuckle), who wants Bill. That’s what he gets before actually winning a slugout. The Veterans come back in to clean house and Bill’s big boot finishes Tino at 4:32.

Rating: C. This was almost but not quite a squash as the villains ran through everyone but Guevara. I’m not sure why they need to be teaming together but I do like seeing the Veterans actually winning something for a change. It’s a quick match and that’s all it needs to be so I’ll take what I can get.

Post match the winners split some money but are interrupted by Skyflight, who give them a staredown.

Skyflight vs. Adrian Quest/Ricky Gee/Danny Rose

I do appreciate the jobbers having their names on their gear. Quest and Sky start things off with some wristlocking before Darius comes in instead. That earns him a quick triple teaming down and a front facelock from Rose. That’s broken up and Dante comes in to pick up the pace, including an enziguri and springboard high crossbody for two on Gee. Everything breaks down and Gee is catapulted into a cutter to give Dante the pin at 4:34.

Rating: C+. This was another fast paced match and it was nice to see them staying to the point here, with both teams getting to look good. Quest/Gee/Rose seem to be a regular team and I could go for seeing some more of them in the future. They were smart to keep this fast and it worked well enough.

We look back at Jay Lethal turning on Bandido and joining the Swirl.

Jay Lethal vs. Tommy Billington

Billington was barely shown in the clip but at least commentary explains how he’s connected to Lethal. They start fast with Lethal being sent outside for a suicide dive, followed by a backdrop back inside. Lethal is back up with a suplex onto the apron and then a cutter back off of it and they head back inside.

One heck of a chop drops Billington in the corner and Billington hammers away. It’s time to start in on the leg with the Figure Four going on rather quickly. The rope is reached and Billington rolls away from the threat of Hail To The King. Billington catches him up top with a superplex but Lethal is back up again. Lethal takes over again and tries Hail To The King, which is reversed into a crossface. Cue Lee Johnson for a distraction, allowing Lethal to hit the Lethal Injection for the pin at 8:15.

Rating: B-. Lethal having the best match of the night thus far is hardly a surprise as he’s still one of the best in-ring stars in the company. I do like him being added to the biggest story around here as it adds some credibility. I’m just not sure who is going to step in and take him out, though actually getting to the Christian vs. Bandido match that has been teased for months would be nice.

Satnam Singh vs. Jordan Oasis

Oasis slugs away with forearms to start but is quickly sent into the corner. The loud (or in this case, not so loud) chops have Oasis in trouble and we hit a nerve hold. That’s broken up and Oasis goes after the leg, only to get sent to the apron. The chokeslam brings Oasis over the top and plants him down for the pin at 2:54. Pretty standard Singh match.

Deonna Purrazzo says her Pure Rules match against Trish Adora means it’s the two of them, one on one.

Persephone vs. Johnnie Robbie

Persephone rudely backs her up against the ropes to start but gets armdragged down a few times. Robbie’s sunset flip is rolled through for a basement dropkick and a hard kick to the back has her in more trouble. A judo throw and some forearms have Robbie in more trouble and Persephone powers her into the corner. We’re off to the chinlock but Robbie is back up with some kicks to the head for two. Robbie’s knee to the face drops Persephone again but she counters a rollup into a Razor’s Edge to finish Robbie at 5:43.

Rating: B-. Robbie got in a lot of offense here and it was a nice performance from someone who hasn’t been around very often. At the same time, commentary continues to treat Persephone as a huge deal and that is likely going to continue. I’m not sure what she’s going to do, but it doesn’t feel as important when Athena has already beaten her in a big match.

Tony Nese vs. Komander

Before the match, Mark Sterling complains about luchadors like Komander, saying Nese is going to clear them out. Nese backs him into the corner to start and then flips over Komander out of said corner. Komander sends him outside for a suicide dive and chops away against the barricade. A Daivari distraction lets Nese get in a kick to the head and we hit the waistlock.

Nese double stomps the ribs into another waistlock, which has Komander slapping his stomach, which doesn’t count as a tap. Back up and Nese misses a charge into the post, allowing Komander to strike away. A quick DDT drops Nese for two and a double moonsault gets the same. Komander’s regular moonsault hits raised boots but Nese’s pumphandle driver is countered into a rollup for two. The very springboardy DDT plants Nese and Cielito Lindo finishes him at 8:31.

Rating: B-. Komander continues to get in a bunch of offense, though it doesn’t exactly lead to much no matter what he’s doing. Hopefully he gets to do something as he’s right there to go after one of the titles. Then again wins and losses only mean so much around here, which is one of Ring Of Honor’s biggest issues.

We look at Nick Wayne winning the TV Title from Komander last April.

Nick Wayne vs. Lucas Riley

Non-title Proving Ground match, because Wayne being gone since JULY isn’t enough to warrant a title defense. Wayne snapmares him down to start and messes with Riley’s hair, only for Riley to take him down and do the same. Normally this would mean war, but normally this would be a title match. Well actually normally he would have been stripped of the title somewhere in the last six plus months but oh well. Back up and Wayne chops him against the ropes but Riley grabs a Michinoku Driver for two. Wayne’s dragon suplex gets two and he kicks Riley in the head for the pin at 3:45.

Rating: C. I have no idea why this wasn’t a title match. Wayne has been gone for the better part of a year and yet here we are with a Proving Ground match. This is a perfect example of the title situation not making sense around here, as wrestlers will get title matches out of nowhere or after winning one match, but Wayne gets to go into yet another month without defending his title. I get that things might be different, but some kind of logic would be nice.

Women’s Pure Title: Deonna Purrazzo vs. Trish Adora

Purrazzo is defending for the first time since winning the title on December 5. They fight over wrist control to start and Adora bails from the threat of the Fujiwara armbar. Adora pulls her throat first into the ropes, which apparently counts as a rope break. A small package gives Adora two and they forearm it out.

The Lariat Tubman misses and Purrazzo is back with her own clothesline to put them both down. Adora’s bridging German suplex gets two, as does Purrazzo’s nasty powerbomb. The Fujiwara armbar doesn’t work as Purrazzo’s arm gives out thanks to the neck damage. The Lariat Tubman connects but Purrazzo rolls outside. Back in and Purrazzo rolls her into the Fujiwara armbar and leans back to make up for the bad arm for the tap at 9:15.

Rating: B-. Yeah it was fine. There’s still no need for this to be a title, as we went almost two months without the thing being defended and pretty much nothing was lost. Purrazzo is a rather talented star and it’s fun watching her in the ring. That doesn’t mean she needs a title basically customized for her.

Post match Diamante and Billie Starkz run in to beat down Purrazzo, with Adora joining in.

Athena is proud of her minions and wants to beat up Maya World, who attacked her at Global Wars. Therefore World has earned a match with Athena. A Proving Ground match of course. Because Heaven forbid it’s a title match.

Overall Rating: C. This show was back in the good old Ring Of Honor format of frustrating me to no end, as it’s over an hour and forty minutes long with matches seemingly pulled out of a hat. You could have easily dropped a handful of these matches and not lost a thing, but I’m wondering if this was due to the rumored studio show starting soon. Since Ring Of Honor had absolutely no choice but to tape and air all of these matches, they just didn’t have a choice otherwise.

Then you have the title situation, which is somehow getting worse. Either you have people getting title matches after almost no success (Zayda Steel), titles being defended at random after months of activity (Deonna Purrazzo), titles not being defended after a hiatus approaching enough time to conceive and have a baby (Nick Wayne) or just not being defended for three months (Athena, Shane Taylor Promotions, Bandido as of next week), I have no idea how the title process works around here.

There are WAY too many titles though and no sign of them ending, much like there is no sign of this place being well put together. Maybe the studio thing will help that, but I’m having fears of those nearly three hour shows that are just like this, with random matches up and down the card and talks of getting into title contention for hours on end. Not an awful show here, but good grief figure out how things are supposed to go around here and stick to it already.

Results
Adam Priest b. JD Drake – Rollup
TMDK b. Frat House – Fireman’s carry slam to Karter
Red Velvet b. Zayda Steel – Spinning kick to the face
Big Bill/Bryan Keith/Grizzled Young Veterans b. CJ Tino/Richie Slade/Che Guevara/Dom Kubrick – Big boot to Tino
Skyflight b. Adrian Quest/Ricky Gee/Danny Rose – Slingshot cutter to Gee
Jay Lethal b. Tommy Billington – Lethal Injection
Satnam Singh b. Jordan Oasis – Chokeslam
Persephone b. Johnnie Robbie – Razor’s Edge
Komander b. Tony Nese – Cielito Lindo
Nick Wayne b. Lucas Riley – Kick to the head

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Ring Of Honor
Date: February 12, 2026
Location: eSports Stadium Arlington, Arlington, Texas
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We’re getting closer to absolutely nothing right now and there are a lot of titles that could use a defense after literal months of no defenses. Hopefully they find a way around that, as the Swirl/Jay Lethal story, which was the best thing going, has already cooled off. Maybe we can switch it up a bit this week so let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Tag Team Titles: La Faccion Ingobernable vs. Top Flight

La Faccion is defending for the first time since winning the titles on December 5, which was their first time teaming together. We get a cheer off to start and Dante speeds around Mortos. A running shoulder sends Dante flying and it’s off to Darius vs. Guevara. Well never mind as Guevara hands it right back to Mortos, which seems like a waste of time.

And it’s already back to Guevara, who is knocked into Mortos this time, but snaps off a headlock takeover. Guevara’s moonsault dropkick puts Darius on the floor so Dante comes in, only to miss a stomp. Dante gets taken into the corner for some clotheslines from Mortos, who is described as a good lawyer. As your bull monsters tend to be.

A shot to the hamstring lets Mortos start in on the leg but Dante manages a quick DDT. Darius and Guevara come in to pick up the pace but Mortos gets in a blind tag. A jumping Downward Spiral drops Guevara and a tornado DDT drops Mortos for two, as the blind tag didn’t make much of a difference. Mortos is right back with a pop up Samoan drop to pin Darius at 8:39.

Rating: C+. It was nice to see the titles actually defended, as if nothing else you might want to see the still mostly unproven team actually, like, team. It’s not like there are many teams in the title picture (whatever that entails) so it makes sense to give the champs some reps. At least more than one every two months at least.

Jay Lethal has Bandido’s mask and promises that Bandido will lose the World Title soon. Tommy Billington pops in to challenge Lethal. He doesn’t actually do anything physical, but he does make the challenge.

Michael Oku/Von Erichs vs. The OXP/Oday/Timur The Great

Kevin Von Erich is here too and gives Oku his cowboy hat on the way in. Oku grabs OXP’s arm to start and hands it off to the Von Erichs for some running clotheslines in the corner. Everything breaks down quickly and Oku hits the running shooting star to the floor. Back in and the double Claw and half crab give us the triple submission at 2:31. At least it was short.

We look back at last week’s main event.

Persephone vs. Julissa Mexa

Mexa takes her down to start fast and does a quick dance. The hips to the face have Persephone in more trouble and a spinning middle rope crossbody gives Mexa two. Persephone is right back up with a knockdown and basement dropkick to put Mexa in trouble. Some knees in the corner have Mexa down again and we hit the chinlock. That’s broken up and Mexa gets in a capture suplex, followed by a standing moonsault for two of her own. Mexa strikes away so Persephone gives her a bridging German suplex. A pumphandle dragon suplex puts Persephone down for two more but she’s right back with a crucifix bomb for the pin at 5:29.

Rating: B-. They made the most of their time here and it was a back and forth match. The good thing is that Persephone, who is apparently a big deal around here, got to look like a star. At the same time, Mexa had a solid debut and I could go for more of her, as the women’s division could certainly use some new names.

Dalton Castle/Outrunners vs. KM/Nathan Cruz/Rosario Grillo

Magnum scares Grillo into the corner to start so it’s quickly off to Cruz for an early change. Everything breaks down fast and the Outrunners clean house. Castle comes in for the suplexes and it’s a triple slam into the Mega Powers elbow to Cruz. The Bang A Rang gets the pin at 2:32. Total squash.

JD Drake doesn’t think much of Adam Priest going after Kazuchika Okada and wants to teach him a lesson. That’s quite the downgrade from Okada.

Lance Archer vs. Will Allday

Allday bounces off of Archer to start but manages to backflip out of a chokeslam attempt. A choke toss sends Allday flying but he avoids a charge in the corner. Archer has had enough and knocks him down, setting up the chokeslam and Blackout for the pin at 2:30. Anyone think maybe they should do something with Archer and his undefeated run? Anything at all?

Swirl/Premiere Athletes vs. Bandido/Mascara Dorada/Komander/Xelhua

Daivari and Xelhua start things off with Xelhua firing off some early dropkicks. Dorada comes in and gets his mask pulled, allowing the big beatdown in the corner. That doesn’t last long as Dorada is back with a spinning kick to Nese’s head. Komander comes in to face Johnson and flips over into a standoff. That works so well that Komander flips over into a standoff before bringing in Bandido to face Christian.

They forearm it out until Johnson and Komander come in as well. The luchadors clear the ring but some evil cheap shots leave Komander in trouble for a change. Nese drops a leg and the Athletes hit a quick double suplex. Bandido avoids a charge in the corner but gets speared down on the apron in a nice sequence. Back in and Johnson hammers away while Christian hits on Stori Denali.

Daivari and Komander crash on stereo crossbodies and Bandido comes back in to clean house. Komander’s very bouncy hurricanrana connects and the luchadors hit a nice quadruple dive. Christian flips out of the 21 Plex though and Denali sneaks in to chokeslam Bandido. Christian’s frog splash gets two with Dorada making a save. We hit the parade of knockdowns, including a pop up cutter to Daivari. More dives connect to the floor and Bandido 21 Plexes Daivari for the win at 14:07.

Rating: B-. This was a fun match with the luchadors getting to go out there and do some impressive things, as they are known to do. That’s always going to work, though at least this did something to keep up the build towards Christian vs. Bandido. I have no idea when that is actually going to happen, but at least they’re doing something to make it happen. Kind of.

Overall Rating: B-. While there was a lot of filler in the middle, it was nice to see a show actually feel important for a change. That’s not something that you often see around here and putting one of the ridiculous amount of titles on the line helped. Throw in some Bandido/Christian build in and I could go for more of this style. I doubt I’ll get it, but I’ll take it for a week.

Results
La Faccion Ingobernable b. Sky Flight – Pop up Samoan drop to Darius
Michael Oku/Von Erichs b. The OXP/Oday/Timur The Great – Triple submissions
Persephone b. Julissa Mexa – Crucifix bomb
Dalton Castle/Outrunners b. KM/Nathan Cruz/Rosario Grillo – Bang A Rang to Cruz
Lance Archer b. Will Allday – Blackout
Bandido/Xelhua/Mascara Dorada/Komander b. Swirl/Premiere Athletes – 21 Plex to Daivari

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Ring Of Honor
Date: January 29, 2026
Location: H-E-B Center At Cedar Park, Cedar Park, Texas
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We’re finishing up the month here and hopefully we get some title defenses around here. There are some titles that haven’t been defended in almost two months and that is quite an issue for a show with so many titles in action. Hopefully they find the time for some of those belts to be on the line so let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

We actually see the commentators. I don’t remember the last time that took place on the weekly show.

Athena vs. Vertvixen

Proving Ground match, meaning if Vertvixen wins or survives the ten minute time limit, she gets a future title shot. We get an error before the bell, with Riccaboni saying we’re a week away from Global Wars featuring Athena’s promotion, which has been postponed due to weather issues. Athena takes her down by the arm to start and nips up but Vertvixen is back with a whip into the corner.

A running Codebreaker drops Vertvixen just as fast and Athena pulls the nose for a right hand. That’s enough to draw some blood and Athena suplexes her to cut off the comeback. The cravate brings Vertvixen back up and she sends Athena into the buckle. A Blue Thunder Bomb gives Vertvixen two and she knees Athena in the head. They fall outside, with Athena powerbombing her against the barricade to take over. Back in and Athena just unloads with rights and lefts, setting up the Koji Clutch for the tap at 6:55.

Rating: C+. This is the point where I once again ask what the point is of having Athena go on for so long as champion. We’re now into the fourth year of her reign and unless they think there is something into her beating Roman Reigns’ mark, what’s the goal of this? And please, not Billie Starkz winning the title. It’s not like there is some years long story between them but really, what else is there supposed to be?

Post match respect is teased….and the Minions run in for the beatdown. Hyan and Maya World make the save.

The Infantry and Trish Adora are in the back when Carli Bravo brings in the fan who has been helping him: Christian. She’s rather tall and the other two accept her.

Anthony Henry vs. Adam Priest

They lock up to start and go to the mat with Priest bailing out to the floor early on. Back in and they wrestle to a standoff until Henry gets in a cheap shot to the gut. That earns him a dropkick into the corner, where Henry gets in a neckbreaker over the turnbuckle bar. A neck twist keeps Priest in trouble but he’s fine enough to knock Henry outside. The baseball slide through the ropes drops Henry again and he jams his knees coming back inside. A piledriver gives Priest two but Henry catches him on top with a superplex…but Priest ties the legs up for a small package and the pin at 7:20.

Rating: C+. That was one of the better uses of that ending sequence I’ve seen as it isn’t something that often works well. They had a good enough match going with the neck work from Henry, though watching a mostly tag guy like Priest in a singles match only gets you so far. Henry continues to be a nice hand and that’s about it, which granted is about all he’s presented as being.

Aaron Solo vs. Tommy Billington

They lock up to start and go to the mat (oddly familiar) before forearming it out. A backdrop sends Billington outside and a belly to back suplex puts him down back inside. Billington gets caught in a sleeper but fights out and flips over for a clothesline. Billington goes up and hits a missile dropkick but the piledriver is countered. That doesn’t sit well with Billington, who hits a pair of piledrivers for the win at 5:20.

Rating: C+. Much like the previous match, it was entertaining while it lasted but I’m not exactly a lot higher on Billington for beating someone else that everyone beats. The match feels like someone put on here to give Billington something to do. That’s fine, but doing it in back to back matches isn’t exactly interesting.

Rocky Romero talks to Adam Priest, who doesn’t think much of the Don Callis Family. Priest talks about his wins and wants a title shot, say against Kazuchika Okada. That doesn’t work for Romero, who tells him to show up on Collision.

JD Drake vs. Katsuyori Shibata

Drake clotheslines him down to start and they go outside, with Henry hitting a rather hard chop. Shibata is back with a ram into the barricade and grabs a suplex for two back inside. Henry is back with a spinebuster and Cannonball, followed by a Vader Bomb for two. Shibata sends him into the vicinity of the referee though, which is enough for a low blow. The cross armbreaker makes Drake give up at 5:26.

Rating: C. This was another match with no reason to question the result and not enough time for the action to get good. That has been the theme of this show and it hasn’t made for the most engaging episode. As usual, Drake and Shibata were fine, but it isn’t a match I was overly anxious to see.

We get an ad for Global Wars. So I guess it’s back on?

Viva Van/Lady Bird Monroe vs. Hyan/Maya World

World flips out of an armdrag to start but Van dives over her for a standoff. Hyan comes in and isn’t about to get armdragged, allowing World to come back in for a bulldog. A legdrop gives Hyan two but it’s back to Van for a rolling spinwheel kick. Monroe grabs a front facelock, which is quickly reversed for a running splash in the corner. Everything breaks down and World hits a great running dropkick to Monroe. A wheelbarrow faceplant/Downward Spiral combination finishes Monroe at 4:04.

Rating: C. This is the first match of the show where it felt like the winners actually benefited. Hyan and World are still new around here and need some wins to establish themselves. That is what they got here, even if it was over a team of unproven stars. That’s about all you can ask of them here and while the match wasn’t good, it’s what Hyan and World needed.

Post match Athena and the Minions run in to beat down Hyan and World. Athena tells them to find a partner for a six woman tag next week at Global Wars. I’m assuming it’s happening, as otherwise this is a lot of avoidable false advertising and confusion.

Tony Nese vs. Mascara Dorada

Mark Sterling is here with Nese for some crowd insulting. Nese backs him into the ropes to start and flips over him out of the corner, meaning it’s time for some jumping jacks. Back up and Dorada flips around as well, allowing him to scare Nese down for some jumping jacks of his own. Nese knocks him outside for a cheap shot from Sterling (ignore the brace on his arm) and strikes away back inside. A bridging northern lights suplex gives Nese two and he grabs a bodyscissors.

That’s broken up and Dorada hits a kick to the head into a running headscissors to the floor. The big twisting dive connects and a springboard frog splash gives Dorada two back inside. Nese flips out of a German suplex and hits a double stomp, followed by a pumphandle driver for two more. Back up and Dorada strikes away before Nese misses a charge into Sterling. The shooting star press finishes for Dorada at 10:29.

Rating: C+. Well that happened. That’s kind of the mantra for the whole show and it’s not the best way to go. The good thing is that it involved Dorada in the ring, which is certainly a treat. At the same time you have Nese, who is talented but has been turned into such a low level player that it doesn’t mean much to beat him. As has been proven by everyone who has beaten him.

Overall Rating: C-. Here’s the thing: the wrestling was perfectly fine for the most part, with the worst match being completely decent. The problem is outside of setting up a six woman tag for next week (in theory), there was pretty much nothing changed here whatsoever. It was a bunch of midcarders having matches against even lower level stars for about an hour.

With so many titles around here, there is pretty much no reason to not be able to throw out even a token title defense here and there. Next week marks two months since Final Battle and six of the eight titles Ring Of Honor offers has not been defended since that show (the Pure Title has been defended since, while the TV Title hasn’t been defended since July). With the amount of wrestlers and titles available around here, there is no good excuse for that to be the case. Fix it already, because it could do some good things for this show.

Results
Athena b. Vertvixen – Koji Clutch
Adam Priest b. Anthony Henry – Small package
Tommy Billington b. Aaron Solo – Piledriver
Katsuyori Shibata b. JD Drake – Cross armbreaker
Hyan/Maya World b. Lady Bird Monroe/Viva Van – Wheelbarrow slam/Downward Spiral combination to Monroe
Mascara Dorada b. Tony Nese – Shooting star press

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

Collision
Date: August 30, 2025
Location: 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Tony Schiavone

We’re still in Philadelphia as the residency continues and this time around it’s the more wrestling based show. We’re rapidly approaching All Out and some of the matches have either been set or are coming together. This week will likely be more about getting us ready for those matches so let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Daniel Garcia vs. Blake Christian

Matt Menard is here with Garcia…and here are the Death Riders to give Garcia some pointers. Christian hits a quick dropkick and Garcia is already out on the floor. Garcia fights back but gets sent face first into the barricade. Back in and Christian grabs a chinlock but Garcia fights up and chops away. Christian knocks him down again and tries a 450, which is pulled into a guillotine choke, followed by the piledriver for the win at 6:05.

Rating: C. The match was fine, with Garcia getting a win to get some momentum back after losing to Jon Moxley. I’m not sure what Garcia is going to be doing with Moxley, but as long as it doesn’t involve Moxley getting the World Title back, we should be fine. Christian is someone who keeps feeling like he could become something in Ring Of Honor, though being a jobber in AEW isn’t helping that effort.

Post match Garcia won’t say what Moxley said to him, instead challenging Moxley for next week. Cue Wheeler Yuta to say the challenge is accepted.

The Conglomeration is ready for tonight but Roderick Strong isn’t happy with Kyle O’Reilly for teaming with Tomohiro Ishii.

Conglomeration vs. Don Callis Family

Alexander and O’Reilly start with O’Reilly taking him down into a quickly broken cross armbreaker. Fletcher and Ishii come in to slug it out before it’s back to O’Reilly, who gets elbowed down. O’Reilly comes right back and grabs a cross armbreaker, which he floats into an ankle lock. Fletcher comes up with a bloody eye as Ishii and O’Reilly kick away. O’Reilly is sent outside and kicked down though, allowing Fletcher to pose as we take a break.

We come back with O’Reilly fighting out of a super fireman’s carry and grabbing a Kimura on Alexander. That’s broken up as well so it’s a double clothesline to leave both of them down. Ishii is back in to take over on Fletcher, including the brainbuster for two. A German suplex rocks Fletcher but he comes back with a nasty Falcon Arrow.

O’Reilly and Alexander come back in to slug it out until O’Reilly gets a cross armbreaker. Ishii pounces Fletcher out of the way but Alexander makes the rope. O’Reilly’s flying knee to the floor only hits chair though, leaving Ishii to knock Alexander down. Fletcher is back in for the save though and Alexander grabs a straitjacket piledriver for the pin at 13:04.

Rating: B-. The Family’s dominance continues as they rack up another win, even if it’s over a team who are only kind of regular partners. That isn’t going to sit well with Roderick Strong, who wants revenge, and now we might be getting to see what he’ll be doing about it. I’m not sure if that’s going to be with or without the Conglomeration, though it’s not like the team has much in the way of a standard lineup.

Post match Strong comes out to check on O’Reilly but doesn’t seem to want to help Ishii.

Jamie Hayter and Thekla are brawling in the back, with Hayter getting the better of it until security breaks it up. Thekla dives off a balcony to take Hayter down though.

Mother Wayne wants Kip Sabian and Killswitch to calm things down but Sabian blames him for everything. Mother tells Sabian to take a walk.

Jay Lethal vs. Hologram

This is something of an upgrade for Hologram. They trade some early knockdowns to start with Hologram flipping over him out of the corner and it’s an early standoff. A tilt-a-whirl backbreaker plants Hologram and a faceplant does it again as we take a break. We come back with Lethal hitting a running clothesline against the ropes, followed by the suicide dive.

Hologram comes right back with one of his own before grabbing a kneebar back inside. That’s reversed into a Figure Four from Lethal, with Hologram making the ropes. A Backstabber slows Lethal down though and it’s the spinning torture rack bomb for the pin at 9:51.

Rating: B-. It’s still taking its sweet time, but at least Hologram is getting wins over some bigger names. He’s been needing something to do for way too long now and this is about as good as anything he can get. As usual, Lethal is good at making someone else look better in the ring and that seems to be his role these days, which is a smart use for him.

Post match the Hologram code appears but stops working. Instead we see a black and red Hologram, with a graphic saying SOON. So we’re doing an evil twin. You have 184 titles in this promotion and that’s what you have for someone on a thirty one match winning streak?

Video on Ricochet/the Gates Of Agony vs. the Hurt Syndicate.

Alex Windsor vs. Ashley Vox

Windsor shoves her down to start but Vox is back up with a quick dropkick. A Blue Thunder Bomb and powerbomb get Windsor out of trouble and a Sharpshooter makes Vox give up at 1:11.

Post match Windsor calls Mercedes Mone “one pissed off little woman”. Windsor says Mone crossed the line by bringing up Will Ospreay and issues the challenge for the TBS Title.

Earlier today, Mark Briscoe and Don Callis met up in the back, with Callis avoiding Briscoe’s challenge for the TNT Title. Instead, Callis says he has to beat a member of the Family to get the shot, which works for Briscoe.

Adam Priest/JD Drake vs. FTR

Priest takes Harwood down by the leg to start but gets reversed into a headlock. Priest goes for the leg again and hands it off to Drake for more of the same. That’s broken up and Wheeler comes in to suplex Priest, who gives him a dropkick. Drake goes up but gets knocked down by Harwood as we take a break.

We come back with Drake hitting a moonsault for two but FTR is back up with a Shatter Machine. Priest comes back in to clean house until a shot to the face cuts that off. Harwood strikes him down in the corner but gets pulled out with a German suplex. Priest gets sent into the post a few times though and a Border City Stretch gives Harwood the win at 8:50.

Rating: C+. I’m not sure how much this made FTR feel like they’re ready for Copeland and Cage at All Out but at least they won in convincing enough fashion. FTR isn’t a team who needs to be built up and they would have been better off getting to talk a bit after a squash. The match is going to be something of a dream match in the first place so this only gave them so much.

Post match Wheeler says this is isn’t about Adam Copeland, but rather that FTR should have the Tag Team Titles back. They’re ending this in Toronto. Harwood says this will be a dream match but the fans almost yell him down. This is going to be a charity exhibition for two guys who made their names off the letters TLC 25 years ago. They’ll be facing two men who made their names off the letters FTR, so don’t make them wreck Copeland and Cage.

The Don Callis Family is ready for the eight man tag on Dynamite.

Big Bill vs. Juice Robinson

Bryan Keith and Austin Gunn are here too. Bill puts him on top to start so Robinson grabs a rather aggressive headlock. A belly to back suplex can’t get Bill out of trouble but a big boot to the face knocks Robinson silly as we take a break. We come back with Robinson being dropped onto the barricade but managing to send Bill into a lighting structure. That’s shrugged off and Bill grabs a bearhug, which is broken up rather quickly. Robinson starts in on the leg and his big left hand gets two. Keith offers a distraction though and the swinging Boss Man Slam finishes Robinson at 9:29.

Rating: C+. This is a feud that has been going on for a few weeks now and I’m not sure where it’s going to go. The problem is the Bang Bang Gang is barely a group anymore as you have the midcard wrestler teaming with one half of the tag team. That’s only so much to go on and it’s not like Bill and Keith have anything going on either. At least Bill got to look all dominant again though, as it suits him well.

SkyFlight wants to keep winning but Darius Martin wants gold. Like the ROH Six Man Tag Team Titles. If that’s your goal, you might want to look into another career.

Gabe Kidd is ready to hurt Darby Allin.

We look at Allin’s various extreme antics. Eh apparently it’s for a fundraiser so fair enough.

Toni Storm/Mina Shirakawa/Queen Aminata vs. Billie Starkz/Triangle Of Madness

No Thekla for the evil team here. Storm and Blue start things off with Storm headlocking her into an armbar. Starkz comes in with a facebuster but charges into a backbreaker, allowing Shirakawa to fire off a kick to the chest. It’s off to Hart to headscissor Aminata but some hip attacks send the villains outside. Mina adds a huge dive onto the pile and we take a break.

We come back with Aminata and Hart knocking each other down, allowing Storm to come in and dropkick Blue. Everything breaks down until Storm is left alone with Blue, who drops her for a double down. Mina and Hart get the tags, with Mina grabbing a quick backbreaker. Blue reverses the Figure Four before it’s back to Starkz, who gets hit in the head. The Glamorous Driver finishes for Mina at 12:00.

Rating: B-. Kind of a weird choice for a main event here as you had two members of a trio in there against a fairly makeshift hero team. It wasn’t bad at all and Storm certainly brings star power to anything she does. She’s going to need a new challenger soon and while this didn’t feel like it was about setting that up, it did feel like a good way to get Storm and Mina on the show.

Post match Thekla runs in to jump Mina and the big beatdown is on, with Storm being left laying. Mina and Aminata gets the same treatment and the Triangle poses. Jamie Hayter doesn’t appear for the save.

Overall Rating: B-. This was very much a run of the mill Collision, with the focus being on the stories you rarely get on Dynamite and a more relaxed pace. It’s rarely a show you need to see, but it’s a different kind of show from Dynamite in a good way. Sometimes you need to mix it up a bit and while the show still feels like it has a lot of filler, it’s nice to do something differently from the Dynamite model of everything going as fast as it can.

Results
Daniel Garcia b. Blake Christian – Piledriver
Don Callis Family b. Conglomeration – Straitjacket piledriver to Ishii
Hologram b. Jay Lethal – Torture rack bomb
Alex Windsor b. Ashley Vox – Sharpshooter
FTR b. Adam Priest/JD Drake – Border City Stretch to Priest
Big Bill b. Bryan Keith – Swinging Boss Man Slam
Toni Storm/Mina Shirakawa/Queen Aminata b. Billie Starkz/Triangle Of Madness – Glamorous Driver to Starkz

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Ring Of Honor
Date: December 5, 2024
Location: MVP Arena, Albany, New York
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We’re just over two weeks away from Final Battle and that means it is time to set up the card. For once, that means we are going to be seeing the World Champion actually show up around here, with Chris Jericho announcing his challenger for Final Battle. That could go in a variety of directions so let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

We run down the card.

The Grizzled Young Veterans complain that the extras are eating before they get to catering. Think before you act next time.

Alex Reynolds vs. Katsuyori Shibata

Evil Uno is here with Reynolds and Shibata takes him to the mat to start without much trouble. A figure four necklock has Reynolds in trouble but a rope breaks that up rather quickly. The cross armbreaker goes to the arm again but Uno offers a distraction, allowing Reynolds to hit a boot to the face. Reynolds gets two off a DDT and grabs a neck crank. Back up and Shibata gets annoyed at being chopped so he hits a running dropkick in the corner. A Death Valley Driver into the Octopus Stretch makes Reynolds tap at 5:46.

Rating: C. This wasn’t exactly great and Shibata hasn’t been doing much lately so this was little more than him absorbing what Reynolds threw at him and then winning. It was nice to see him use something other than the PK for a change though, but there was only so much of a reason to think Reynolds would have a chance. Shibata continues to be his usual self, and I’m not sure what he might have going forward.

JD Drake/Beef vs. Waves And Curls

Beef has to get out of Jordan’s waistlock to start and it’s time to dance. Some running shoulders put Jordan down and Drake comes in for a headbutt. Brayden comes in, gets knocked down, setting up a spinebuster into the Beef Brigade for the win at 2:28. Total dominance.

Buy Outrunners merch! No you should as it seems awesome.

Jeff Jarrett and company have merch too. They’re no Outrunners, and QT Marshall comes in to brag about his success in Full Gear. Marshall offers a match with Jay Lethal but Lethal declines, saying he wants bigger fish.

Trish Adora vs. Rachael Ellering

Shane Taylor Promotions and the Infantry are here with Adora. They fight over arm control to start before an exchange of shoulders goes nowhere. Ellering takes over and chops away in the corner but Adora goes back to the arm for a breather. The arm gets stomped onto the mat but Ellering is fine enough to snap off a suplex. The backsplash connects to give Ellering two and an uppercut gets the same. Adora manages a German suplex though and Lariat Tubman finishes Ellering at 5:51.

Rating: C+. This was close to a hoss fight with both of them hitting each other rather hard. As usual, Ellering is able to make someone else look good and Adora is…well odds are she’s not going anywhere anytime soon, as almost anyone involved with Shane Taylor Promotions or the Infantry pretty much never does. At least they had a decent match here.

And now, for the first time in a good while, the Ring Of Honor World Champion is actually here, with Chris Jericho and Bryan Keith coming out for TV Time. Big Bill is off on a pilgrimage but Jericho is here to announce his challenger at Final Battle. He’s going to face someone from New York City (“The Windy City”). Maybe it’s Frank Sinatra….or maybe it’s Matt Cardona, who interrupts. Jericho: “If it isn’t Zack.” Cardona: “Zack is dead.” The title match is officially on, and Cardona knocks Jericho’s hat off to make it personal.

And this is why the weekly ROH show is the biggest waste of time in wrestling. Cardona has never appeared on that show, and yet here he is getting a World Title shot on one of the biggest events of the year. Meanwhile, in the months leading up to and in the months following Final Battle, commentary will continue talking about how wrestlers are trying to get into contention for a title shot. These title shots will never come because the challengers will either be someone from AEW or someone from out of absolutely nowhere like this. All this for a show you have to regularly pay to see.

Jon Silver is asked where he was earlier, but he’s been busy stealing the Grizzled Young Veterans’ scarves. So there’s a Final Battle pre-show match.

Griff Garrison/Preston Vance vs. Gates Of Agony

Garrison and Vance jump them to start and a delayed suplex puts Kaun down. Kaun gets choked down in the corner and a big boot gives Garrison two. Riccaboni: “We’ve seen this team of Vance and Garrison growing week after week.” This is their second match ever as a team. Anyway Vance drops an elbow and garrison pulls Kaun back into the corner. Kaun Rock Bottoms his way out of said corner and the tag brings Liona in to pick up the pace. Everything breaks down and Liona is sent into the steps, setting up a slingshot spear to Kaun. Back up and Kaun hits a quick Pedigree for the pin on Garrison at 5:49.

Rating: C. Am I supposed to cheer for the Gates Of Agony? I only ask because this match made it seem like I’m supposed to cheer for the Gates Of Agony. I’m not sure who in the world thinks that’s a good idea, but this is the same promotion that thinks Dustin Rhodes and Sammy Guevara are the best option for the top of the tag division.

Harley Cameron interrupts Rachael Ellering and was cheering for her tonight. Cameron pulls a dog trophy from her pants, because Ellering is the top dog. They hug, with Lexi Nair in the middle. Ellering thinks there might be something to Cameron.

Billie Starkz vs. Lady Frost

Frost wins an early power off but gets pulled down into a rollup for two. Starkz misses a kick to the head and gets taken down with an anklescissors before being sent into the corner. Back up and Starkz kicks her in the face, followed by another to the head to cut Frost down again. Frost’s spinning kick misses and Starkz rolls her up for the pin at 4:05.

Rating: C+. Unless they do something quick in the next two weeks, we’re not getting Starkz vs. Athena for the Women’s Title at Final Battle, which is the only story that makes sense for the title at the moment. Odds are we’ll get some random title challenger and Starkz will be left on the sideline, which is annoying when her getting another shot at Athena has been built up. This worked well enough, though you can only do so much with four minutes and a quick ending.

Video on Dustin Rhodes/Sammy Guevara vs. the Righteous, which is official in a bull rope match for the Tag Team Titles at Final Battle. Guevara might as well not even be part of the team given the story they’ve been telling.

From Final Battle 2008.

Ring Of Honor World Title: Nigel McGuinness vs. Naomichi Marufuji

McGuinness is defending and they go with some grappling to start. A cravate takes Marufuji down but he’s back up with an elbow to the face. The rebound lariat misses for McGuinness and they trade rollups for two each into a standoff. McGuinness catches him in the corner but Marufuji comes out with a spinning suplex. They hit the mat with Marufuji bouncing out of a headscissors and hitting a low superkick.

A running double stomp has McGuinness in more trouble and Marufuji grabs a figure our necklock. Back up and McGuinness kicks him out to the floor, where Marufuji is back with a superkick into Sliced Bread off the barricade. They get back in and McGuinness catches him on top for a hammerlock powerslam with Marufuji rolling outside. McGuinness spends too much time yelling at the fans though and gets dropkicked in the ropes, followed by a running clothesline for two.

A cobra clutch into a Backstabber gives Marufuji two but another Sliced Bread is broken up. McGuinness takes too long loading up a middle rope clothesline and gets dropkicked to the floor. Now the Sliced Bread can connect on the apron, meaning it’s a rather delayed cover for two.

Marufuji misses a Coast To Coast and the Tower Of London (or close enough) to the apron connects. Back in and one heck of a lariat gives McGuinness two as his right arm seems banged up. Another Tower Of London (traditional version) is blocked and Marufuji hits a Coast To Coast in the Tree of Woe. Some kicks to the head rock McGuinness but he comes back with the rebound lariat for the pin to retain at 18:16.

Rating: B+. As is the case with most of these classic matches, it’s a heck of a fight and they beat each other up, with Marufuji being his usual good self. At the same time, you really can see the greatness in McGuinness and he was one of the best in the world in his time. It’s no wonder WWE was interested and he looked great here, with these two beating the daylights out of each other until McGuinness hit one of his big shots for the win.

Matt Taven wants Lee Moriarty and the Pure Rules Title. The match is on for next week.

Shane Taylor Promotions vs. Action Andretti/Top Flight

The infantry and Trish Adora are here with the Promotions while Leila Grey is in the other corner. Riccaboni: “Of course in our retro match this week, we saw Matt Taven and Adam Cole.” No Ian, we didn’t. Andretti and Dean start things off with Andretti climbing the corner for a wristdrag. A basement dropkick gives Darius two and it’s off to Bravo, who is quickly kneed in the face.

The double backbreaker gets two on Bravo but Dean trips Andretti up on the floor for a Stunner on the apron. Taylor crushes Andretti as well and then knocks him down into the corner. Andretti fights up with a handspring elbow and Darius comes in with a kick to Dean’s head. Everything breaks down and Taylor gets triple teamed down but Bravo plants Darius for two. Boot Camp is broken up with a double superkick and Dante adds a top rope splash to pin Bravo at 5:56.

Rating: C+. Yeah remember a few weeks ago when Shane Taylor Promotions seemed to be coming after the Six Man Tag Team Titles? Ring Of Honor doesn’t seem to either. I like Andretti and Top Flight but there is no reason to believe that they’re going to get a title shot anytime soon. Granted it might be easier to believe if the titles had been defended in four months. This felt like a match that has been done over and over in some combination, which isn’t a good way to go.

Overall Rating: C+. I do appreciate that they’re actually setting up some things for Final Battle, but the show still isn’t looking overly interesting. You have Cardona getting the title shot without having wrestled in ROH before, Dustin Rhodes defending his dad’s memory or something and a random Women’s TV Title match. I need a bit more than that to make me want to watch a four hour show, and Ring Of Honor doesn’t seem interested in investing that much time in the show. Not a bad show here as it did build up the big card a bit more, but ultimately, Ring Of Honor isn’t very interesting and that needs to change.

Results
Katsuyori Shibata b. Alex Reynolds – Octopus Stretch
JD Drake/Beef b. Waves And Curls – Beef Brigade to Brayden
Trish Adora b. Rachael Ellering – Lariat Tubman
Gates Of Agony b. Griff Garrison/Preston Vance – Pedigree to Garrison
Billie Starkz b. Lady Frost – Rollup
Action Andretti/Top Flight b. Shane Taylor Promotions – Top rope splash to Bravo

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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AND

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Ring Of Honor
Date: November 28, 2024
Location: MVP Arena, Albany, New York
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

It’s Thanksgiving night and that means we are less than a month away from Final Battle. As usual at this point, we don’t have anything set for the show but we might get some of those set up this week. That should make for an interesting night, assuming that is the direction it actually takes. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of Chris Jericho retaining the ROH World Title over Tomohiro Ishii last night on Dynamite.

Jericho promises to defend his title at Final Battle. And he sings.

Opening sequence.

We run down the card.

LeeJ vs. Anthony Gangone/Kubes

That would be Lee Johnson and EJ Nduka. Johnson and Gangone start things off with Gangone taking him down but getting punched out of the corner. Nduka comes in and sends Kubes to the floor, setting up a spinebuster/neckbreaker combination to finish Gangone at 1:44. Total squash, but LeeJ is an awful name.

Queen Aminata vs. Christina Marie

Aminata wastes no time in snapping off a suplex but Marie dropkicks her into the corner. A bulldog is shoved off though and Aminata hits a running boot in the corner. With Marie down, Aminata ties up the legs and cranks on the arm (almost an Octopus) for the tap at 1:50.

Iron Savages vs. MxM Collection

Mansoor and Bronson start things off with Mansoor’s headlock not getting him anywhere. A dropkick staggers Bronson so Boulder comes in, threatening to bite the tip off. Mason’s flying shoulder sends Boulder out to the floor and the Collection gets to pose. A hip attack drops Bronson but Mansoor gets taken into the wrong corner.

Bronson runs him over with a shoulder and a powerslam cuts off the tag attempt. The middle rope moonsault misses though and it’s Mason coming in to clean house. The Savage’s hairy chest deal goes badly and Mason grabs a chokeslam. That’s enough to set up the Centerfold to finish Boulder at 6:33.

Rating: C. You know what you’re going to get from these guys and that wasn’t a surprise. The Collection had the fans behind them and the Savages are doing the same things that they do every time they’re out there. It wasn’t a bad match, but I couldn’t get interested in the Savages no matter what they do.

Matt Taven vs. Josh Woods

Pure Rules match and Mark Sterling (with Ariya Daivari) do their usual before the match. They go to the mat to start with Woods’ armbar sending Taven over to the ropes. Back up and a dropkick puts Woods down, with Taven reminding us that he does in fact know his name. Woods sends the arm into the ropes to take over and an armbar stays on said arm. Taven elbows his way to freedom and gets two off a DDT. A doctor bomb and knee to the face give Woods two but Taven knocks him back down. Taven’s Lionsault hits knees but Woods’ suplex is reversed into a cradle for the pin at 5:40.

Rating: C. This match was a good example of what is wrong with the Pure Rules division: the rules don’t change a thing about the match. This was a run of the mill match with a single rope break, which would have been the case in any match. I’m sure this will put Taven in line for a Pure Rules Title match because that’s how the title works, which shows you how unnecessary that title happens to be.

A bunch of women argue over who will be representing Ring Of Honor at Wrestle Dynasty.

Athena promises to win the four way at Wrestle Dynasty, though she’s not sure why she has to qualify.

Righteous vs. Beef/JD Drake

The Righteous jump them before the bell but Beef and Drake fight back. Dutch takes over on Beef for the bell and Vincent takes off his belt, allowing Dutch to choke with the bull rope. Dutch’s Flip Flop and Fly has Beef in more trouble but he gets over to Drake to come in and clean house. Orange Sunshine takes Drake down though and the Bionic Elbow finishes for Dutch at 4:15.

Rating: C. Does it feel like the Righteous are feuding with Dustin Rhodes and a warm body? This whole feud has been about Dutch and that bull rope/cowbell vs. Dustin, with Sammy Guevara just kind of being there. It’s almost like Dustin and Sammy are lame champions who shouldn’t have held the titles this long in the first place.

Post match Dustin Rhodes charges out but Sammy Guevara cuts him off. Dustin wants to fight and grabs a chair but the Righteous runs off.

AR Fox vs. John Silver

The rest of the Dark Order is here with Silver. A running shoulder puts Fox down to start but he’s right back up with a neckbreaker to send Silver outside. The big no hands dive wipes Silver out but he grabs a heck of a German suplex back inside. Fox isn’t having that and hits a legdrop into a big dive on the floor, followed by a Swanton for two. Silver’s brainbuster gets two more but Fox is back with an Iconoclasm. The 450 finishes Silver at 4:58.

Rating: C+. Fox was a ball of energy here and it made for a good, fast paced match. It helps that Silver has his usual batch of charisma and they kept things moving in the limited time that they had. Fox isn’t likely going to do anything significant, but the fans like him and that’s enough around here.

Red Velvet will defend the Women’s TV Title against Leyla Hirsch at Final Battle.

From Final Battle 2009.

Eddie Kingston vs. Chris Hero

Fight Without Honor so it’s a brawl on the floor to start. Hero kicks him in the face and grabs a chain for some whipping. A whip into the barricade has Kingston in more trouble and they head inside so Hero can stomp away. Some shots to the face with the chain have Kingston busted open and a Wasteland onto the chain makes it worse. Kingston headscissors his way out of a Liger Bomb and a release Rock Bottom onto the chain has Hero in trouble for a change.

A northern lights bomb gives Kingston two but Hero knocks him down again. The shirts come off and they strike it out with Kingston looking a bit out of it. Hero brings in a piece of barricade before snapping off a belly to back suplex. The barricade is laid over the middle rope and a superbomb (almost a piledriver) drops Kingston onto the steel…for two.

Somehow Kingston is back with a German suplex and a clothesline with the chain gets two more. Hero’s lackey Shane Hagadorn offers a distraction so Kingston has to take out Sara Del Ray. A suplex drops Hero but he’s back with a low blow. The rolling elbow gives Hero two so Kingston spinning backfists him for two. Kingston steals the golden (loaded) elbow pad and hits a rolling elbow of his own for the win at 15:14.

Rating: B. As usual, something tells me this would be better with some knowledge of the backstory. Since this is just a random wild brawl added to the show, there is only so much that can be covered. Kingston was his usual fighting self and Hero could work with anyone. It was a good brawl, but the backstory would have helped a lot.

Grizzled Young Veterans/Pat Buck vs. Conglomeration

O’Reilly and Gibson trade takedowns to start until Drake goes to the eyes to take O’Reilly into the corner. That doesn’t last long as it’s off to Briscoe to take over. Romero comes in but gets kicked from the apron to slow him down. Buck comes in for a dropkick but Romero suplexes Gibson down. The Veterans take turns hammering on Romero until a quick knockdown lets Briscoe come in. A fisherman’s buster gets two on Drake and Briscoe gets in a double noggin knocker. O’Reilly cross armbreakers Buck for the win at 6:39.

Rating: C. What the heck happened to the Veterans? I get that they’re not great but they’re good enough to be more than cannon fodder for the Conglomeration. I forget that they’re around most of the time because they came in, did a quick thing with the Young Bucks and then got dropped. They’re better than this, but that doesn’t seem to matter at the moment.

Overall Rating: C-. So that’s the Thanksgiving show. A bunch of run of the mill matches, a random title match being added to Final Battle, and a classic match which was only so good in the first place and has no real reason to be here. Other than commentary talking about it, you would have no idea that the show was taking place on a holiday, making this just a dull, lifeless show. In other words, typical Ring Of Honor.

Results
LeeJ b. Anthony Gangone/Kubes – Spinebuster/neckbreaker combination to Gangone
Queen Aminata b. Christina Marie – Four limb stretch
MxM Collection b. Iron Savages – Centerfold to Boulder
Matt Taven b. Josh Woods – Cradle
Righteous b. JD Drake/Beef – Bionic Elbow to Drake
AR Fox b. John Silver – 450
Conglomeration b. Grizzled Young Veterans/Pat Buck – Cross armbreaker to Buck

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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AND

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Ring Of Honor
Date: November 21, 2024
Location: Amica Mutual Pavilion, Providence, Rhode Island
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We’re about a month away from Final Battle and the show has yet to even be officially announced. Therefore no matches has been made yet and that is going to leave some work to be done around here. Hopefully they make some of it work because it would be nice to have some extra time put into the card in advance. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

We run down the card.

Angelico vs. Gabe Kidd

Kidd slaps him in the face to start and snaps off a suplex. Another suplex is countered into a small package to give Angelico two but Kidd knocks him into the corner. Angelico strikes away and grabs a belly to back suplex, only for Kidd to get in one of his own. A brainbuster gets two on Kidd and a rollup gets the same. That’s enough for Kidd, who is back with a pair of piledrivers for the pin at 4:13.

Rating: C+. Kidd is someone who has gotten my attention in the few times he’s been around and it was nice to see him make quick work of Angelico. There was no reason to have this be competitive and thankfully that’s how it went. I can’t imagine Kidd is going to be around regularly but for a quick cameo, this was fine.

Shane Taylor Promotions vs. Beef/JD Drake

The Infantry is here with the Promotions. Beef and Taylor start things off with the latter getting the better of some strikes. Beef’s cartwheel into a dropkick has Taylor in more trouble and it’s off to Moriarty. Some chops in the corner stagger Moriarty but Taylor comes in to run Beef over with an elbow to the face.

Drake isn’t having as much of the chops though and slugs away at Taylor, who drops Drake without much effort. A Saito suplex gets Drake out of trouble though and it’s Beef coming back in to clean house. Everything breaks down and Drake misses a moonsault to Moriarty. Taylor comes back in and hits Drake in thee face for the big knockdown. The release Rock Bottom into the splash finishes Drake at 6:39.

Rating: C. This was more of the way to use Beef, as he got to come in, do his charismatic comeback, and do the job before it took too long. That’s all the match needed to be and I can go for getting through things rather than making this a lot longer. Now just get the Promotions the Trios Titles and give them some success after so many months of nothing.

Post match the beatdown is on but the Undisputed Kingdom runs in for the save.

The Righteous wants the Tag Team Titles and Dutch reads a poem to Dustin Rhodes about how much Dusty Rhodes loved him more than Dustin. Cowbelling ensues.

Kevin Knight vs. Serpentico

Knight shoulders him down to start as we get an official announcement that Final Battle is coming on December 20. Serpentico’s hurricanrana count of the corner gets two and a falling splash is good for the same. Back up and Knight knocks him down for a change and hits a splash for two of his own. A dropkick to the back gives Serpentico two but Knight kicks him in the face a few times. Knight’s springboard clothesline finishes at 4:49.

Rating: C. They kept this one short and to the point again with some nice high flying involved. Knight is someone who has done well in the appearances I’ve seen from him and he did well again here. As usual, Serpentico is good at making other people look better and he did it for Knight here too.

Mike Bennett vs. Tomohiro Ishii

They chop it out to start (it’s an Ishii match for sure) with Ishii getting the better of things. A superkick into a running clothesline drops Ishii for two but Ishii gets annoyed at being hit in the face. Ishii’s snap powerslam gets two but some more strikes to the face an a spear give Bennett two. Bennett takes too long going up though and a stalling superplex brings him back down. Bennett’s Death Valley Driver connects but Ishii fights out of a powerbomb. The brainbuster finishes Bennett at 6:51.

Rating: C+. Ishii getting a win on the way towards his Ring Of Honor World Title shot makes sense, but it’s a big weird to see him beating Bennett. That’s not the most logical way to go when Bennett is being built up as part of a tag feud with Shane Taylor Promotions, or even as Roderick Strong’s lackey. In theory there should be someone else to take the fall, but Ring Of Honor can be confusing at times.

From Final Battle 2008.

Briscoe Brothers vs. Kensuke Office

The Office would be Kensuke Sasaki/Katsuhiko Nakajima. It’s Nakajima backing Mark into the corner to start until Mark takes him down for a kick to the back. Nakajima takes over with a series of kicks, including a running kick to knock Mark outside. Back in and it’s Jay coming into strike away, setting up a Samoan drop to plant Nakajima.

Sasaki comes in to take Jay into the corner, which is broken up in short order, allowing the tag back to Mark. Nakajima gets knocked into the corner and Jay adds a suplex for two. It’s back to Sasaki to kick away at Mark’s leg and the Office can start taking over on said leg. A running dropkick in the Tree of Woe gives Nakajima two but Mark is right back up for the tag off to Jay.

One heck of a chokeslam gives Jay two and it’s back to Sasaki for a chop off. An armbar is broken up so Nakajima suplexes Sasaki onto Jay for two. Nakajima kicks Jay down a few times for two more but Jay gets in a shot of his own. Mark comes back in for the Doomsday Device for two, followed by the Jay Driller to pin Nakajima at 16:40.

Rating: B-. It was a hard hitting match as you should have expected from the four involved, though this was when the Briscoes were just starting to turn the corner and become the team that would dominate the promotion. There wasn’t much of a story here, at least not one that commentary told, so it was quite the randomly added match.

Shingo Takagi vs. Ariya Daivari

Takagi knocks him into the corner to start and fires off some knees in the corner but Mark Sterling grabs the leg from the floor. Daivari sends him into the barricade to take over and we hit the armbar back inside. Takagi gets in a left hand but the arm isn’t all there, so it’s a suplex for two instead. Daivari’s hammerlock DDT gives him his own two but Takagi grabs a regular DDT. Some clotheslines into Last Of The Dragon finishes Daivari at 7:44.

Rating: C. It was nice to have Takagi around as he’s a rather talented star, but this was little more than a quick cameo against a nothing opponent. That’s been the story of this show so far: a bunch of one off matches with guest stars which don’t feel important. Takagi’s was the best so far (save for the one from about sixteen years ago) but I’m only getting so excited about Daivari.

The Outrunners still have merch.

Athena vs. Leila Grey

Non-title Proving Ground match, meaning if Grey survives the ten minute time limit or wins, she gets a future title shot. Athena wastes no time in pulling her down for a quickly broken leglock. Grey’s rollup gets one and a running dropkick has Athena on the floor. That earns Grey a knockdown and a ram into the steps as Athena takes over. Back in and Athena hammers her down but Grey makes the clothesline comeback. Grey hammers away in the corner and a sunset bomb gets two. Then Athena pulls her into something like the Hell’s Gate for the tap at 6:40.

Rating: C+. Grey got in some offense here but there is no reason to believe that Athena is ever going to lose one of these things. It would seem that Billie Starkz is going to take the title from her at Final Battle, but they might want to actually set the match up. Other than that, not quite the usual stuff from Athena, who did at least bust out a new finisher.

TV Title: Brian Cage vs. AR Fox

Cage is defending and knocks him to the floor to start. They change places and Fox hits some dives, followed by a quick Swanton for two back inside. The bearded Cage snaps off a belly to back suplex and then does some curls into a World’s Strongest Slam for two. We hit the chinlock but Fox fights up and hits a Downward Spiral into the middle rope.

A corner clothesline and hanging DDT give Fox two but Cage’s pumphandle faceplant is god for the same. Fox plants him back down and scores with the 450 for two of his own. Cage knocks him off the top though and a tornado DDT into a triple bob gets two. The Drill Claw retains the title at 9:23.

Rating: C+. So this match with the person who hadn’t earned a title match in any noteworthy way resulted in the monster champion beating him after a somewhat competitive match. I’m not sure why this needed to be the main event, but I’m guessing the title was enough. Cage is in getting something of a push on AEW TV so he wasn’t about to lose here.

Overall Rating: C+. This was in fact a show featuring some stars from Ring Of Honor, but this was far more about the stars from Japan. Counting the classic match, six out of eight matches on the show featured guest stars. I have no idea why the show needed to be so focused in one direction, but it’s not like there is anything important around here most of the time. Final Battle is in about a month and now we get to see how many people featured here won’t be on the show. As is so often the case with Ring Of Honor.

Results
Gabe Kidd b. Angelico – Piledriver
Shane Taylor Promotions b. Beef/JD Drake – Splash to Drake
Kevin Knight b. Serpentico – Springboard clothesline
Tomohiro Ishii b. Mike Bennett – Brainbuster
Shingo Takagi b. Ariya Daivari – Last Of The Dragon
Athena b. Leila Grey – Choke
Brian Cage b. AR Fox – Drill Claw

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Rampage
Date: November 8, 2024
Location: SNHU Arena, Manchester, New Hampshire
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness

The show’s slow departure continues with a rematch of last week (which drew the lowest audience in the show’s history, meaning the rematch doesn’t seem to be entirely logical) as Lio Rush faces Komander again. Other than that, we might hear some more from Will Ospreay after his return on Dynamite. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Hikaru Shida vs. Viva Van

They go with the grappling to start until Shida’s waistlock sends Van flying. Back up and Van runs her over for two before they slug it out. Shida’s middle rope dropkick connects and she hammers away in the corner. The Katana misses though, leaving Shida to have to roll through a middle rope crossbody. Shida is right back up with a Falcon Arrow for the pin at 5:18.

Rating: C. Not much to this one other than a way to get Shida back in the ring after an absence. Shida is someone who can work with anyone and Van is one of the better jobbers to the stars around here. I could go for Shida getting to do something else in the near future but the title picture is a bit booked at the moment. For now though, nice start back.

Harley Cameron recaps her recent actions in a rather long sentence, which gets more and more unhinged. She’s ready for more though. I have no idea what she’s talking about half the time but it still works.

Dark Order vs. The Infantry vs. Undisputed Kingdom

The Infantry knocks the Kingdom to the floor so the Order takes over on Dean. Taven comes back in with a dropkick and a clothesline gives Bennett two. Bennett gets taken outside though and a whip into the barricade has him in more trouble as we take a break. Back with something like a Demolition Decapitator keeping Bennett in trouble. The chinlock is broken up and Bennett hits a spinebuster, allowing the tag off to Silver. Everything breaks down and it’s quickly off to Taven to clean house. A pop up right hand rocks Reynolds and the Climax gives Taven the pin at 9:27.

Rating: C+. Pretty fun match here as I’ve long since wanted the Kingdom to be used better. There is only so much you can do when the team is a pair of comedy lackeys and the division has long since needed the depth. I fully expect them to wind up as low level villains again, but this is nice while it lasts.

Post match Brian Cage comes out for a distraction and Lance Archer jumps them for the beatdown.

Roderick Strong (thanks for the help) isn’t surprised that MJF sent the Don Callis Family after them. Jake Roberts comes in to say he’ll have the Beast Mortos come after him. The match is set for Collision.

Deonna Purrazzo and Taya Valkyrie, now known as the Vendetta, are interested in revenge.

Top Flight vs. JD Drake/Beef

Beef runs Darius over to start and then snaps off a cartwheel to set up a dropkick to Dante. Drake comes in and gets muscled over with a suplex as we take a break. Back with Dante hammering on Drake, who misses a charge into the corner. Everything breaks down and Drake gets caught with a tornado DDT on the floor. Beef misses the Meat Shower (yep) and it’s a DDT/leg trip combination to give Darius the pin at 8:27.

Rating: C. This is what gets annoying about Top Flight. They’ll start getting moved up a bit and then come crashing all the way back down to an absolute nothing match like this one. Yeah they won, but they’re a good team who seem like they can never get away from stuff like this. Give them something important where they can win already.

Respect is shown post match.

Komander vs. Lio Rush

Rush dodges around to start and gets two off an early rollup. Komander sends him out to the floor and we get a breather. Back in and Rush isn’t interested in a handshake, instead hitting him in the face with some forearms. A belly to back suplex and clothesline give Rush two and Komander is sent outside for the dive.

We take a break and come back with Komander hitting a springboard armdrag, followed by a standing moonsault for two. It’s too early for Cielito Lindo and Komander’s backstabber on the apron misses as well. Rush hits a big dive on the floor but Komander suplexes him into the corner. A moonsault gives Komander two but Cielito Lindo still doesn’t work. The springboard Stunner connects for Rush and the Final Hour finishes Komander at 12:08.

Rating: B-. And now I’m sure we’ll get a trilogy match next week and it’ll be about the same. There was nothing here that made me want to see these two fight again, but then again there was nothing last week that would make me want to see this match. It’s perfectly good, fast paced wrestling but nothing that isn’t being done by a bunch of people on the same shows.

Overall Rating: C. In case you needed a textbook definition of a show where the company does not care. This was as low level of an hour as you can get with pretty much nothing that felt important going on. It was a bunch of low level stars having completely fine matches, but you would not notice a bit of change on Dynamite if this show hadn’t taken place. I know it’s going away soon, but that doesn’t make shows like this feel any less useless.

Results
Hikaru Shida b. Viva Van – Falcon Arrow
Undisputed Kingdom b. Dark Order and the Infantry – Climax to Silver
Top Flight b. JD Drake/Beef – DDT/leg trip combination to Beef
Lio Rush b. Komander – Final Hour

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Rampage
Date: November 1, 2024
Location: Wolstein Center, Cleveland, Ohio
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Matt Menard

Things picked up a lot earlier this week on Dynamite as Private Party actually won the Tag Team Titles by dethroning the Young Bucks. I’m not sure what that is going to mean on here, but it’s nice to have a nice moment for a change after so much negative. Hopefully this show can do well too so let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

JD Drake/Beef/Butcher vs. La Faccion Ingobernable

Well this is certainly a thing. It’s a brawl to start with Dralistico stomping Beef down, only for Beef to get in a big shot to the face to run him over. Dralistico gets knocked into the corner and it’s Rush coming in for a slugout with Butcher. Drake comes in for a middle rope leg lariat to Mortos, who comes back with a Samoan drop.

Everything breaks down and La Faccion knocks the villains off the apron. Beef gets caught in the wrong corner and Rush/Dralistico pose us to a break. We come back with Drake hitting a spinebuster to put Rush down, meaning it’s off to Beef for the chop off with Rush. Everything breaks down and the running knees in the corner finish Butcher at 9:37.

Rating: C. This was a way to get La Faccion back on track but they were only beating a makeshift team with the Butcher being the most successful member. That’s only going to get them so far, but it’s better than taking so long to beat someone like Beef on his own. Next time it needs to be even faster, but this could have been worse.

Stokely Hathaway takes credit for Private Party winning the Tag Team Titles.

Taya Valkyrie vs. Zoey Lynn

A Blue Thunder Bomb and Shania Pain finish for Valkyrie at 58 seconds.

Post match Valkyrie and Deonna Purrazzo go to the back, where they are cut off by Stokely Hathaway. Apparently Lynn was talking trash about them so Valkyrie goes back into the arena and lays Lynn out in the aisle.

Video on Thunder Rosa vs. Harley Cameron in tomorrow’s Day Of The Dead match.

Queen Aminata vs. Leila Grey

They fight over arm control to start until Grey takes her down with a headlock. Back up and a dropkick gives Grey two but Aminata is back with an Air Raid Crash for two of her own. Aminata grabs a full nelson with her legs but Grey fights up and grabs a Blockbuster of all things. Back up and Aminata pulls her into…well their legs are tied up and it’s something like an Octopus hold on the mat for the tap at 5:39.

Rating: C. Aminata is a good enough hand to do something down the line but it isn’t going to matter if she doesn’t get a couple of bigger wins. This wasn’t exactly a big step forward but it’s better than having her lose again. If nothing else, that hold at the end looked quite good while it lasted.

Top Flight/Action Andretti vs. Dark Order

Reynolds works on Darius’ arm to start and Andretti hits an Arabian moonsault onto Uno on the floor as we take a break. Back with Andretti hitting a Falcon Arrow for two on Silver and an assisted torture rack neckbreaker taking him down again. The Order’s normal sequence into the flipping jackknife rollup gets two on Dante so it’s time for the Pendulum Bomb. Reynolds’ ribs give out though and Andretti is back in with a high crossbody. Darius and Andretti argue over going after Reynolds’ bad ribs, with Andretti taking the tape off the ribs. Said ribs are sent into the post and a split legged moonsault finishes Reynolds off at 8:38.

Rating: C. It feels like I’ve seen these teams fighting in some form or fashion for a good time now, but it isn’t exactly a great sign that they are often in matches where they can trade wins and not move up to the next level. I’m still not sure why Top Flight and Andretti have never gotten a chance at one of the six man titles, but here they are instead. It might even make them feel a little more serious if they’re taken out by the top villains again.

Post match Dante isn’t happy with the win coming that way.

Lio Rush vs. Komander

They run the ropes fast to start before getting a bit testy and shoving each other. Rush sends him outside for a big dive and we take an early break. Back with Komander hitting a springboard crossbody and a very springboardy armdrag for two. A quick Stunner gets Rush out of trouble, followed by another, though Rush doesn’t let go. Instead it’s a clothesline into a Falcon Arrow for two on Komander, followed by the springboard Stunner for two. The frog splash misses though and Komander kicks him down, setting up Cielito Lindo for the pin at 11:55.

Rating: C+. This was the moves match of the show and it went well enough while it lasted. Komander has been around a bit more frequently than in recent weeks and there are worse ideas than having him doing his high flying stuff all over the place. Rush is still just kind of there, but his rapid fire movements in the ring are still good.

Overall Rating: C. It was another skippable edition of the show and that isn’t exactly making for a great watch. Most of the matches on here were completely fine, but they felt like they were there for the same of filling in time and boosting up people who are permanently near the bottom of the totem pole. It’s a shame as there are people who could use the time to get somewhere, but it isn’t going to happen in this format.

Results
La Faccion Ingobernable b. JD Drake/Beef/Butcher – Running knees to Rush
Taya Valkyrie b. Zoey Lynn – Shania Pain
Queen Aminata b. Leila Grey – Seated Octopus hold
Top Flight/Action Andretti b. Dark Order – Split legged moonsault to Reynolds
Komander b. Lio Rush – Cielito Lindo

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Ring Of Honor
Date: October 31, 2024
Location: Alliant Energy PowerHouse, Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

It’s Halloween and in theory that should mean we’re getting things shaken up a bit. This is the kind of show that could include some kid of change of pace or at least some fun, even if we’re back in the Chris Jericho Era. The main event will see Abadon challenging Athena for the Women’s Title so let’s get to it.

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

Happy Halloween: this show is two hours and fifty six minutes long.

The Righteous want the Tag Team Titles and don’t think Dustin Rhodes and Sammy Guevara are family. What happens when the snake bites Dustin? The Righteous want the titles.

We run down the card.

We look at La Faccion Ingobernable beating down JD Drake and Beef.

Peter Avalon/Preston Vance vs. JD Drake/Beef

Beef makes Vance shake his hand to start before they trade shoulders. That doesn’t go very far until Beef runs him over with a shoulder. Vance’s delayed suplex cuts him off and it’s Avalon coming in for a running corner clothesline. It’s off to Drake, who shakes pinkies with Avalon and then chops him, which is kind of a mixed message.

Drake chops him in the corner and hands it back to Beef for the same thing. Another tag brings Drake back in but he seems to hurt his leg, sending Beef back in to get taken down with a hard spinebuster. Vance’s discus lariat gets two but another one hits Avalon by mistake. Drake is back in with the spinning butterfly suplex, setting up Beef’s frog splash for the pin at 7:16.

Rating: C. So Beef and the Workhorsemen are the new Action Andretti and Top Flight yes? It’s quite the similar story and if it winds up going about the same way, it means they won’t have much of an impact. That being said, I could go for something new in the six man division, assuming you actually call that a division.

We look at Chris Jericho’s promo from Dynamite, promising to elevate Ring Of Honor.

Johnny TV vs. Deonn Rusman

This is certainly elevation. Feeling out process to start with TV driving him into the corner but stopping to pose. Some kicks to the head set up a knee to Rusman’s face but a shooting star headbutt low blow (yep) misses. Rusman stomps away but gets kicked low, allowing TV to rain down some forearms. A flipping neckbreaker choke just fires Rusman up, only for TV to kick him down for two more. Rusman connects with an AA but misses a charge in the corner. The flipping neckbreaker into Starship Pain finishes for TV at 4:58.

Rating: C. This was more about featuring Rusman a bit, as you more or less know exactly what you’re going to get from TV. Rusman has done well in some previous appearances and he did decently again here, though there is only so much you can do on defense. It wasn’t quite a squash, but TV isn’t likely to move up the ladder in any meaningful way.

The MxM Collection as a fall collection.

Gates Of Agony vs. CSJ/Dave Dutra

Kaun runs Dutra over to start and Liona hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. CSJ is sent into the barricade and some running shots in the corner crush Dutra. Open The Gates finishes at 1:40.

Sammy Guevara and Dustin Rhodes are down to face the Righteous. I still have no idea why these two are the champions, but I have less idea why Dustin is a double champion.

Lady Frost vs. Reyna Isis

Frost anklescissors her down to start but Isis runs the corner for a wristdrag. A corkscrew dive to the floor drops Frost again but Frost is back with a moonsault off the steps. Back in and Isis works on the back in the corner, with some running knees connecting for two. Frost ducks a clothesline and hits a running elbow for two but Isis ties her in the ropes. The springboard legdrop finishes for Isis at 5:41.

Rating: C+. I could go for building up Isis as a challenger for one of the titles and two matches in, that wouldn’t be the worst idea. If nothing else, it’s nice to have her around for a bit before throwing her right into something. That’s how a build is supposed to work and if that’s what we’re getting, I’ve heard worse ideas.

We look at Abadon attacking Athena again last week.

Matt Taven vs. Aaron Solo

Pure Rules. Solo knocks him into the corner to start and kicks away but Taven is back with the big dropkick. A springboard is broken up though and Solo hammers him down on the mat. Taven kicks his way out of trouble and hits a DDT, followed by a springboard kick to the head. A choke sends Solo over to the ropes for his first break, followed by a Climax for the second break. Solo gets in a kick to the face but dives into another choke for the tap at 5:49.

Rating: C. Let me guess: this puts Taven into contention for the Pure Rules Title or makes him #1 contender because he has now spent almost six minutes wrestling a Pure match. Ignore that NOTHING in this match had anything special about it that would make you realize it was a Pure Rules of course, because the Pure Rules Title is one of the most pointless titles around. The champion either doesn’t defend it for months at a time or loses in regular matches, but it just keeps existing because it was around before and therefore it has to stay around.

Post match Lee Moriarty comes out for the staredown because THAT’S WHAT WE DO in this….it’s not a division but around this title at least.

JD Drake insists he and Beef aren’t family. They’re waiting for Anthony Henry to get back. I still have no idea what the appeal of these guys is supposed to be.

Righteous vs. Jay Marston/Solomon Tupu

Marston gets dropped, Tupu gets dropped, Orange Sunshine finishes Marston at 1:19.

Post match the Righteous crush Tupu’s leg with Dustin Rhodes and Sammy Guevara running in for the too late save.

Tomohiro Ishii vs. Josh Woods

Mark Sterling and Ariya Daivari are here with Woods and plug the Premiere Athletes’ new shirt. Woods wrestles him to the mat to start but Woods is back up with a shot to the face to send him outside. Back in and Woods knocks him into the corner as commentary talks about ear injuries. Ishii’s Saito suplex gets two and he snaps off a German suplex. Woods comes back with an exploder but gets caught on top for a delayed superplex. The big lariat gives Ishii two so he headbutts Woods down, setting up the brainbuster for the pin at 7:08.

Rating: B-. Easily the best match of the night so far as they were beating each other up pretty well. Ishii is old and can’t move nearly as well as he did before but there is still a certain intensity to him that you cannot fake. That’s what we saw here and Woods was hanging in there with him well enough.

Post match the villains beat Ishii down but Kyle O’Reilly runs in for the save.

Dustin Rhodes and Sammy Guevara get jumped by the Righteous, with Dustin trying to protect Guevara. As they rush through probably three weeks’ worth of stuff in about an hour.

Top Flight/Action Andretti vs. Dante Leon/Jah-C/Trip Jordy

For the sake of simplicity, I’ll refer to Dante Martin as Dante and Dante Leon as Leon. Darius armdrags Leon down to start and hands it off to Dante for a dropkick. The slingshot hilo sets up a double backbreaker and an assisted moonsault gets two. Jah-C comes in and gets caught with an atomic drop into a springboard spinning Downward Spiral. Leon comes back in and gets dropkicked into a German suplex. The swinging full nelson slam finishes for Dante at 4:51.

Rating: C+. As usual, Andretti and Top Flight work well together but there is no reason to believe that it’s going to lead anywhere. It’s not like it ever has before, yet here we are watching them have another (albeit entertaining) match. At some point though, I need to have a reason to get interested in these matches, as they’ve been doing the same thing for a long, long time now.

From This Means War on October 29, 2005.

Jay Lethal vs. Curry Man

Curry Man has Allison Danger with him. We get a long pose off to start with the first lockup not taking place until nearly two minutes in. Curry armbars him down into a headscissors but a hammerlock sends Lethal over to the ropes. They trade hammerlocks and that goes nowhere so it’s another standoff so the fans can have their dueling chants. Lethal turns down the option to dance but does armdrag him down into a hip swivel.

They fight over a wristlock again and then trade leg kicks like a dance…and then we pause so the referee can dance too. Danger comes in to dance as well before Curry grabs the mic and says…I think something about how he loves dancing. Lethal wristdrags him to the floor for the suicide dive, followed by a neckbreaker for two.

Curry sends him into the corner for a splash and a back elbow sends Lethal outside, setting up a dive of his own. Fan: “YOU’RE BETTER THAN PEPPER!” The chinlock goes on back inside before Lethal flips out of a suplex and knocks him down. Lethal’s middle rope leg lariat gets two but he misses the top rope headbutt. They trade rollups for two each until Lethal grabs a dragon suplex for the pin at 22:31.

Rating: C. I’m sorry what? Why in the world was this match added to this show? It runs over twenty minutes, including dance off and mid-match promo and could have easily had about fifteen minutes dropped. They were trading decent stuff but the match didn’t build to anything as Lethal just suddenly beat him. There was no need for this to be this long or added to this already marathon show.

Billie Starkz vs. Blair Onyx

Starkz takes her down by the arm to start and slowly kicks away before hitting a spinning kick to the head. Some stomping in the corner has Onyx in trouble and Starkz yells at the referee. Onyx gets a boot up but Starkz catches her on top and hits something like a One Winged Angel for the pin at 4:08.

Rating: C. Just a squash here with Starkz running her over and showing more aggression now that she is seemingly on the outs with Athena. We’re likely coming up on Starkz vs. Athena at Final Battle so we can finally change the title, though that has felt like an obvious case for a long time now. Starkz did look a bit better than she did before, so maybe things are changing a bit.

The Infantry joins Shane Taylor Promotions. Well that’s consolidating losers for a change.

Spanish Announce Project vs. Infantry

Shane Taylor Promotions and Trish Adora are here with the Infantry. Dean shoulders and armdrags Angelico to start but it’s quickly off to Serpentico for a falling splash. The Infantry is knocked outside, where Adora sends Angelico into the steps. Back in and Bravo hammers away on Serpentico with a suplex getting two.

Dean sends him hard into the middle buckle and a middle rope knee/backbreaker combination gets two more. Serpentico kicks his way out of the corner though and hands it off to Angelico to clean house. Everything breaks down and Adora has to offer a distraction, allowing Moriarty to get in a belt shot. Boot Camp finishes Angelico at 9:23.

Rating: C-. The team turns heel, has multiple people interfering, including a belt shot, and they need nearly ten minutes to beat one of the lowest of the low tag teams in Ring Of Honor. That’s the Ring Of Honor mindset in a nutshell: change something around and then make sure that it has as little impact as possible. None of these teams feel like they are going anywhere and this match going so long somehow made it worse.

We look at Diamante screwing up and getting disqualified against Red Velvet.

Diamante vs. Aminah Belmont

Whip into the corner, running dropkick, rolling cutter, Diamante wins at 1:24.

Lexi Nair tells Billie Starkz to focus on Athena’s title defense but Starkz is taking the night off. Nair: “I can’t protect her. I’m just a fragile flower!”

Jacked Jameson/Iron Savages vs. Dark Order

Silver and Bronson start things off with the latter driving him into the corner. That’s fine with Silver, who knocks him into another corner for some chops from Uno. Reynolds, still with bad ribs, comes in and gets driven into the corner for some shoulders. Reynolds shoulders his way out of trouble and chokes away on the ropes.

Boulder comes in for some hip swiveling and a crash into the bad ribs. That’s broken up and Reynolds fights out of the corner, only to get taken down again. An electric chair splash misses and the tag brings in Uno to clean house. A DDT puts Bronson down and the Order’s strike sequence into the jackknife rollup is good for the pin at 8:24.

Rating: C. Nothing to see here, again, as we have two teams who have been established as nothing more than the bottom of the barrel. The Order got wrecked by the Blackpool Combat Club while the Savages lose to everyone. They argued once and now they had a match to determine the second lowest team around here. Why would I want to see these guys fight for eight minutes?

Komander vs. Ariya Daivari

Mark Sterling and Josh Woods are here again and does pretty much the same promo as their first time out here. Komander works on a wristlock to start but has to fight out of a headlock. An armbar puts Daivari down again as commentary reminds us to vote on Tuesday. Some strikes to the face have Daivari in more trouble but Sterling offers a distraction so he can knock Komander off the top.

The villains get in some stomping on the floor and a neckbreaker gives Daivari two. Komander fights out of a chinlock and hits a springboard crossbody into a headscissors. The very springboardy hurricanrana sets up a top rope splash for two on Daivari. A reverse layout DDT gives Daivari two of his own and a superkick puts Komander down. The Magic Carpet Splash is cut off and Daivari rolls outside, where Woods gets in a cheap shot on Komander. He’s fine enough to hit the rope walk flip dive onto the villains, setting up Cielito Lindo for the pin at 11:09.

Rating: C+. This was a perfectly nice match which came at a terrible time in a long show. Komander is the designated jobber to the stars around here and has to be given a win every so often. The problem with that is he beat one of the Premiere Athletes, who lose to everyone. Not a bad match, but this show has gone on WAY too long to make a match between these two work.

Chris Jericho previews the main event. So far, he’s the only one to make any reference to this being the Halloween show.

Women’s Title: Athena vs. Abadon

Athena, with Lexi Nair, is defending in a Ring Of Horror match, which is a Halloween themed hardcore match. Oh and they’re chained together. A forearm just annoys Abadon to start so some clotheslines in the corner have Athena in trouble. Athena hits a baseball slide to take it outside, where some chairs are set up.

That takes way too long though and Abadon gets in some kendo stick shots to take over. Things aren’t intense enough yet so Athena whips out a barbed wire baseball bat to miss some big swings. Some pumpkins are destroyed but Abadon uses the distraction to, eventually, spear Athena through a table for two. Another whip through another table has Athena in more trouble as they head back inside for the slugout.

Athena grabs a ladder, which is dropkicked back into her and they go back to the floor. Abadon gets in a dropkick with a trashcan and lays Athena onto a ladder onto the bottom rope. The ensuing backsplash connects and they’re both down. The fight goes outside again, where Athena gets in a hard knee against the steps for two. Back in and Abadon’s bite to the head doesn’t work very well as Athena gets in a powerbomb out of the corner.

Athena manages to slip out of the chain and swings a kendo stick, which bounces off the ropes and hits her in the head to give Abadon two. Abadon goes up but gets powerbombed onto the steps for two more. Nair slides in some skewers, which are driven into Abadon’s head. That’s shrugged off and Abadon pulls her head first into a chair in the corner. A swinging Rock Bottom plants Athena onto a bunch of thumbtacks on the floor for two more, leaving Abadon frustrated. Athena gets in a bottle shot to the face and the O Face onto the chairs retains the title at 19:48.

Rating: B. This worked rather well for a variety of reasons, including the effort that they put into the match on the way here. For once, it felt like this match had been built up for weeks and then they put in a heck of a performance in the match itself. It was violent and hard hitting, with Athena feeling like she survived. Good stuff here, as Athena continues to be the best thing about Ring Of Honor by a mile.

Overall Rating: D+. Oh this did not work, pretty awesome main event aside. This was WAY longer than it needed to be, as it felt like they were trying to cram in every single thing and person they could find. At what point do you look at a two and a half hour show and think “I KNOW! WE NEED A NINETEEN YEAR OLD CURRY MAN MATCH!”

There comes a point where a show just needs to end and they hit that point way before halfway through this week. It was a bunch of nothing matches featuring low level stars who felt like they were there to fill in an overly long card. Ring Of Honor has done this before and it never works, but I guess they just had to have all of this stuff on here because we only have what, five months between pay per views these days? Terribly put together show this week, as someone needs to tell Tony Khan to stop (again).

Results
JD Drake/Beef b. Peter Avalon/Preston Vance – Frog splash to Avalon
Johnny TV b. Deonn Rusman – Starship Pain
Gates Of Agony b. CSJ/Dave Dutra – Open The Gates to Dutra
Reyna Isis b. Lady Frost – Middle rope legdrop in the ropes
Matt Taven b. Aaron Solo – Choke
Righteous b. Jay Marston/Solomon Tupu – Orange Sunshine to Marston
Tomohiro Ishii b. Josh Woods – Brainbuster
Top Flight/Action Andretti b. Dante Leon/Jah-C/Trip Jordy – Swinging full nelson slam to Leon
Billie Starkz b. Blair Onyx – Electric chair flipping slam
Infantry b. Spanish Announce Project – Boot Camp to Angelico
Diamante b. Aminah Belmont – Rolling cutter
Dark Order b. Iron Savages/Jacked Jameson – Jackknife rollup to Bronson
Komander b. Ariya Daivari – Cielito Lindo
Athena b. Abadon – O Face onto chairs

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