Collision
Date: January 10, 2026
Location: eSports Stadium Arlington, Arlington, Texas
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Tony Schiavone

The Arlington residency continues as we are on the way to next week’s Maximum Carnage Dynamite. That is something that will likely get a lot of attention this week and it should make for a nice show. Collision tends to do well when it comes to advancing things for later so let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Death Riders vs. SkyFlight

Jon Moxley is on commentary and SkyFlight’s newest member, Zayda Steel, is here as well. Yuta takes Sky down into a chinlock to start but Sky spins around into an armbar. Garcia comes in to chop away on Darius but Dante is in with a bulldog to send Garcia into Darius’ knee. Pac isn’t having that and comes in to stomp away but Dante makes the save. That’s cut off and the Riders kick him down in the corner as we take a break.

We come back with Dante fighting out of a chinlock but getting caught in a top rope Hart Attack for two. Dante’s dropkick allows the tag off to Yuta and a springboard Downward Spiral drops him again (Moxley: “Where do they come up with this offense?”). Yuta gets slingshotted into a cutter for two, with Garcia having to make a save. Darius gets caught in the corner for some rapid fire elbows. The Brutalizer makes him give up at 13:24.

Rating: B. Fun tag match to start things off here, which isn’t surprising as SkyFlight tends to do rather well. It was far from a squash and it got a lot more entertaining when things broke down near the end, which is where both teams tend to shine. Also of note: Moxley is rather good on commentary, as he is very energetic in the booth.

Post match Steel gets in a staredown with Marina Shafir…and gets laid out by a Megan Bayne Liger Bomb. So she gets pinned in her first match as part of SkyFlight and then gets laid out two days later. Why would I want to cheer for her?

The Conglomeration (and Roderick Strong) is ready for either bad guy faction that wants to come out of them. Mark Briscoe goes a bit nuts about being ready for Hechicero.

Brody King vs. Barrett Brown

This is billed as a standby match because the opener went short. Yeah apparently about thirteen and a half minutes is short. The Ganso Bomb finishes Brown at 26 seconds.

The Don Callis Family beat up more people in the back, with Don Callis himself apparently still in Tokyo celebrating Kazuchika Okada’s win at Wrestle Kingdom.

El Clon vs. Komander

They go technical with some rather spinning rollups to start with Clon getting the better of things. Clon knocks him down again and hits a quick moonsault for two. A rather springboardy wristdrag has Clon in trouble and a twisting top rope hurricanrana takes him down again. They go outside with Clon dropping him on the ramp as we take a break. We come back with Komander (whose knee was banged up during the break) going after the knee and hitting a DDT. Komander flips around a bit to show that the knee is ok and grabs a poisonrana for two.

Clon’s tilt-a-whirl is broken up and Komander runs to the top for a nice moonsault. Komander sends him outside for a dive but Cielito Lindo misses. Now the tilt-a-whirl backbreaker works for Clon but his spinning torture rack bomb is countered into a Canadian Destroyer (that was slick) for two. A leg trap powerbomb gives Clon two, followed by the torture rack bomb (McGuinness: “Now he’s dead.”) for the pin at 12:07.

Rating: B+. That might be a bit high but I was having a great time with this. They stopped trying to do anything but do one cool spot after another and that was quite the success. I had a good time with this match and Clon got to showcase himself, which is what he needs to be doing since he’s still establishing himself.

We look at the Don Callis Family’s night at Wrestle Kingdom.

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Mina Shirakawa vs. Lady Frost

Shirakawa gets a bouquet of flowers at the bell and Frost kicks her in the face (naturally the referee is fine with starting the match as this happens). Frost stomps away in the corner but Shirakawa fights out, only to get caught in the corner again. A front flip Cannonball connects for Frost but Shirakawa strikes her in the head a few times. The Figure Four makes Frost tap at 2:48. They packed a lot into that time.

Post match Shirakawa gets the flowers but isn’t sure who sent them.

We look at Mercedes Mone’s downfall. She’s taking a break from AEW but is coming back to take more than just titles.

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

TNT Title: Hechicero vs. Mark Briscoe

Briscoe is defending and they look at each other to start until Hechicero takes him down by the leg. Back up and Briscoe takes him down by the arm to little avail so he sticks the landing off Hechicero’s backdrop. Hechicero grabs the hammerlock into a spinning backbreaker for two and they go outside with Briscoe hammering away.

The Blockbuster off the apron drops Hechicero again but he breaks up Briscoe’s step up dive off the chair. A cross armbreaker on the floor has Briscoe in trouble and we take a break. We come back with Briscoe’s arm in trouble and another cross armbreaker sending him to the ropes. Hechicero grabs a rather impressive flip into the cross armbreaker again, with Briscoe needing the rope one more time.

They crash out to the floor, with Briscoe getting caught in a choke until he drops Hechicero onto the ramp. Back in and Briscoe hits the step up flip dive to drop him again and they both get back inside. The arm gives out on a Jay Driller attempt though and the running hurricanrana driver gives Hechicero two. Hechicero’s facebuster into another armbar doesn’t last long so they go up top, with Briscoe biting his way to freedom. The Froggy Bow gets two and the Jay Driller retains at 14:57.

Rating: B+. Another awesome match here as this show is on a roll. Briscoe fighting through the injury and managing to hit the two big finishers to retain was a good story, especially against someone as impressive as Hechicero. There are certain people who can just do things differently than everyone else and Hechicero certainly fits that description. Heck of a match here.

Post match the Conglomeration comes out to celebrate.

The Grizzled Young Veterans mock Eddie Kingston, who is going to take Ortiz down with him this time. Kingston says you reap what you sow, but they only reap.

Video on FTR, including their issues with Adam Copeland.

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Babes Of Wrath/Kris Statlander vs. Hyan/Maya World/Vert Vixen

World rolls Statlander up for an early two but Statlander powers her down. Cameron comes in and gets dropped onto World for two, followed by a double side slam for two on Vixen. A series of running strikes take Vixen down and we take a break. We come back with Cameron getting thrown into the wrong corner for some running shots.

A shotgun dropkick gives Vixen two, with Nightingale actually having to make a save. Cameron tries to come back but gets kneed in the face…and she makes the tag without much difficulty anyway. Nightingale cleans house and hands it back to Statlander, with Cameron coming back in with a double high crossbody. Staturday Night Fever finishes Vixen at 8:57.

Rating: C+. It was fast paced, though I’m not sure how successful this was. The match was designed to set up the Babes and Statlander against the Triangle Of Madness but they had a pretty good bit of trouble here. I’d expect a bit more of a dominant performance from three champions, but at least they won.

Post match the winners are glad with the result but Thekla pops in to say she and her sisters will take care of them on Dynamite. Statlander promises to make them call her Big Stat Daddy.

Don Callis joins us from Tokyo (having gone back after showing up on Dynamite) and is thrilled with Kazuchika Okada’s win. Kyle Fletcher comes in to say they need to talk about Okada. Callis is confused but Fletcher talks about how Okada took his screwdriver at Worlds End. Callis kind of blows him off and says focus on getting the TNT Title back.

Video on Bandido vs. MJF.

Demand vs. JetSpeed/Anthony Bowens

JetSpeed runs in to start before Bowens even shows up. That goes well enough until Bowens gets in there to even the odds. The villains are quickly cleared out to the floor, where Knight is tossed into the post. Bowens gets triple teamed in the corner but rolls away for the tag off to Bailey. Everything breaks down and a UFO Splash gives Knight two on Kaun. Liona gets in a backsplash on the apron to crush Knight though and we take a break.

We come back with Knight fighting his way out of trouble but not being able to make the tag. Kaun and Knight hit stereo crossbodies for a double down and it’s Bowens coming in to clean house. Ricochet hits a big flip dive to the floor, followed by a springboard moonsault for two on Bowens.

Everything breaks down again and Bowens gives Ricochet a wind up DDT. Some dives to the floor put the Gates Of Agony down and a running kick to the face gets two on Ricochet. The Mollywop is broken up though and Kaun gives JetSpeed a double Big Ending. Bowens superkicks Ricochet and they trade rollups for two each. The Mollywop hits Ricochet but he makes a blind tag to Kaun. Open The Gates finishes Bowens at 13:42.

Rating: B-. I wasn’t feeling this one as much, as it was like they just wanted to do the wild brawling with all of the flips and such rather than an actual match. That’s how it started and ended, with only a bit of something different in the middle. Bowens was kind of a random partner for JetSpeed and him taking the fall isn’t a surprise, but I didn’t get into this one as much as the rest of the show.

Post match Max caster comes out for a distraction so JetSpeed can make the save. Caster comes in as well, followed by the Don Callis Family and the Conglomeration to end the show.

Overall Rating: A-. For a random Saturday night show, you can’t ask for much more than this. You had some rather entertaining action and things were advanced before next week’s big Dynamite. This worked well and was better than I was expecting, so we’ll certainly call this one quite the success all things considered.

Results
Death Riders b. SkyFlight – Brutalizer to Darius
Brody King b. Barrett Brown – Ganso Bomb
El Clon b. Komander – Torture rack bomb
Mina Shirakawa b. Lady Frost – Figure Four
Mark Briscoe b. Hechicero – Jay Driller
Kris Statlander/Babes Of Wrath b. Vert Vixen/Hyan/Maya World – Staturday Night Fever to Vixen

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

Supercard Of Honor 2025
Date: July 11, 2025
Location: Esports Stadium Arlington, Arlington, Texas
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

It’s time for the first major show of the year and that means we have a few big matches already set. In this case, we have Bandido defending the World Title against Konosuke Takeshita in what should be a heck of a showdown. Other than that, there are some matches being added today so some of this will be a surprise. Let’s get to it.

We run down the card.

Zero Hour: Blake Christian vs. Jay Lethal

Lee Johnson is here with Christian. Lethal goes after him to start but Christian flips to his feet for a strut. After some applauding, Lethal flips away as well and gets in a strut of his own. Lethal can’t get a Figure Four so Johnson offers a distraction, earning himself a suicide dive. Christian hits a suicide dive of his own before starting to work on the arm. Back in and Christian’s strutting Old School is broken up and the Lethal Combination brings him down.

Lethal goes for the leg and grabs a Figure Four, sending Christian straight to the ropes. The Lethal Injection is blocked and Christian is back with a running Spanish Fly. A Swanton misses and banged up the knee again, allowing Lethal to kick the leg out. Something like a reverse powerbomb plants Christian but Johnson offers another distraction. Christian’s bad leg is fine enough to run the ropes for something like a superplex into the Vanilla Choke for the tap at 8:10.

Rating: C. I guess we really are going with Christian as a thing, which isn’t exactly the most thrilling way to go. At the end of the day, Christian is one of a bunch of guys in the midcard on both rosters and that isn’t going to give me much of a reason to believe he’ll pull it off. At least they’re trying and he’s different enough though so it’s worth a try, in theory.

We recap the Dark Order vs. the Frat House, who have been feuding for a few weeks now, with the Order making them pay a big bar tap. It’s a match with an actual story and that’s better than nothing.

Zero Hour: Dark Order vs. Frat House

The Order beats up the pledges on the way to the ring and then jump the Frat House to start fast. The Frat House is knocked outside and Reynolds is backdropped onto the pile. Back in and Garrison starts to take over on Reynolds, followed by some running boots in the corner for two. Stomping in the corner and a slam get two more but Reynolds backflips out of a double belly to back suplex.

A DDT allows the tag off to Uno so house can be cleaned as everything breaks down. Uno gets spinebustered into a 450 for two but he neckbreakers his way out of trouble. The tag brings in Silver for the triple flipping slam, only for Jacked Jameson to break up the pin. Jameson is ejected but Preston Vance gets in a shot with the paddle. Cue Negative One for a distraction though, allowing the Order to fight up. Uno’s discus lariat finishes Vance off at 10:29.

Rating: C+. This is the definition of a goofy, give the fans something fun match and that’s not a bad thing on a Kickoff show. Let the annoying team lose a match, with the glorified mascot costing them the fall. It’s a fine way to go and nothing was overly bad, so call this a perfectly acceptable offering.

Taya Valkyrie, Johnny TV and the MxM Collection are here, with TV wanting the Collection to receive a welcome back from Japan. They even got Ribera jackets! They also have their own fragrance called SEED (“Let it grow inside you!”). And that’s that.

Zero Hour: Lady Frost vs. Diamante

Diamante shakes her hand to start and then hits a forearm to the face to start fast. They forearm it out and Frost flips over her a few times, only to have a cartwheel cut off. The shoulders in the corner have Frost in more trouble and Diamante stomps her down. An elbow drop gives Diamante two but Frost fights back up. A twisting high crossbody gives Frost two and she flips into a slam to plant Diamante again. Diamante is able to catch her going up though and a hanging Cross Rhodes out of the corner finishes Frost at 5:57.

Rating: C. This was another match that didn’t really need to be on the show and was added with no story. That doesn’t make for the best offering but it’s the kind of thing that Ring Of Honor tends to do. Diamante has had flashes of being impressive, but it isn’t going to matter if there is no followup. That is where Ring Of Honor tends to falter, as there is every chance that Diamante won’t be featured anytime soon.

Zero Hour: Von Erichs vs. Premiere Athletes

Nese punches away at Marshall to start, earning himself a slam and elbow drop. Ross comes in to grind away with a headlock on Daivari but Nese sneaks in for a cheap shot from behind. A suplex gets Ross out of trouble but Mark Sterling offers a distraction, meaning the referee doesn’t see the tag. Ross’ rollup gets a VERY delayed two as the referee is trying to gets Marshall back on the apron.

Marshall gets knocked off the apron again to break up another tag attempt but the Magic Carpet Splash misses. Back up and the tag goes through a few seconds later, allowing Marshall to come in and clean house. Nese’s super hurricanrana brings Marshall down so Daivari gets an actual carpet out. The Magic Carpet Splash (with CARPET) gets two, leaving Nese to walk into a pop up spinebuster for two. Ross Claws Sterling and the moonsault gives Marshall the pin on Nese at 8:40.

Rating: C. If there is some appeal to the Von Erichs, I’m not seeing it. They’re as generic of a tag team as you could get, with their only appeal seemingly being their famous relatives. They’re a perfectly mediocre team, so of course they’re approaching a year as two thirds of the Six Man Tag Team Champions. Just find someone more interesting. That shouldn’t be too difficult.

And now, the show proper.

The opening video looks at how this is the wild west, with a focus on the bigger matches.

Hechicero vs. Michael Oku

Rocky Romero and Amira are here too. They shove each other in the face to start until Oku takes him down for a headlock. That’s reversed into Hechicero’s headlock takeover but they wrestle up to another standoff. Oku hits a dropkick but Hechicero pulls him into a choke to slow Oku down again. Hechicero starts cranking on the arm, including a spinning hammerlock slam for two.

Back up and Oku slugs away, setting up a running clothesline and DDT for two. They both miss running dropkicks in the ropes though and they crash down at the same time. Hechicero is sent to the apron but he comes up choking anyway. Oku knocks him out to the floor though, followed by a frog splash high crossbody for two back inside. The half crab sends Hechicero over to the ropes and he pulls Oku into a nasty looking leglock. With that broken up, Hechicero grabs a running headscissor driver for the pin at 11:29.

Rating: B. This was the technical off that is going to be at least somewhat entertaining just about every time. Hechicero can wrestle that style as well as anyone in the world and Oku was more than hanging with him. Good opener here, and it would have been even get more than “these two are both technical wrestlers.

Atlantic Jr. vs. AR Fox vs. Adam Priest vs. Lee Johnson

The winner gets $50,000. Priest is sent outside to start fast, allowing For to give him a big dive. That leaves Fox to send Atlantis to the apron, followed by the big dive to the floor. Fox’s step up moonsault takes Priest out again but Priest cuts off another flip back inside. Johnson is back in with a basement lariat to Atlantis, who makes Johnson DDT Priest.

Back up and Priest pulls Atlantis to the floor to keep up the beating, only for Fox to be back up with a running dive. Priest DDTs Atlantis but Fox grabs a swinging neckbreaker to put Priest down. Everyone gets a breather so a bunch of them go up top. Fox gets dropped onto the turnbuckle, leaving Johnson to hit a frog splash. Priest makes the save but Fox catches him with a slingshot Canadian Destroyer for the pin at 9:15.

Rating: B-. Take four fast paced wrestlers and let them run around as fast as they can until someone gets a pin. The match isn’t likely to have any kind of long term impact but it’s a fun way to get the crowd into things. Fox specializes in this kind of match and that was the case again here, with Priest looking good in defeat.

We recap Blue Panther challenging Lee Moriarty for the Pure Wrestling Title. Panther beat him in a non-title match in Mexico so it’s time for the more important rematch.

Pure Wrestling Title: Lee Moriarty vs. Blue Panther

Panther is challenging under Pure Rules and takes Moriarty to the mat by the leg to start. They trade some arm cranking until Moriarty gets a leglock. That’s reversed into a Fujiwara armbar (how Panther beat him in Mexico), sending Moriarty to the ropes for his first break. Moriarty starts back on the arm until Panther lifts him up into an inverted Gory Stretch. That’s escaped as well and Moriarty grabs an abdominal stretch, which doesn’t last long.

Instead Moriarty pulls him into a reverse cross armbreaker, sending Panther over for his first break. Panther is right back up with a Figure Four, meaning Moriarty uses his second break. A running clothesline gives Panther two but Moriarty is back up with a springboard forearm for the same. Moriarty cranks on the arm and Panther uses his second break as well.

A pair of suicide dives drive Panther into the barricade but Moriarty isn’t interested in trying for a third. Instead he grabs the Border City Stretch, which is enough for the third rope break. Moriarty is rather pleased but Panther knocks him to the floor for a flip dive off the apron. Back in and Moriarty catches him on top for a superplex. Moriarty grabs an ankle lock and then an STF in the ropes to make Panther tap at 13:18.

Rating: B. The big deal here is that Moriarty is now the longest reigning Pure Wrestling Champion of all time, though going so long between title defenses probably made that easier. The match was rather good, especially when you consider that Panther is in his mid 60s, though the title still doesn’t feel overly important. Moriarty needs some more competition for the title, but it isn’t like there is a story to the title matches most of the time.

We recap the Tag Team Title match, with the Infantry challenging the Sons Of Texas. The Infantry earned the shot then insulted the champions so here we are.

Tag Team Titles: Infantry vs. Sons Of Texas

The Sons are defending and Trish Adora is here with the Infantry. Hold on though as we get a vignette of Sammy Guevara flying, but Dustin Rhodes wants him to be serious. Then Guevara gets him to dress like the Green Lantern and Rhodes looks like he wants to die. It’s a brawl at the bell with Rhodes and Bravo heading to the floor. All four get back inside but Adora breaks up a double Shattered Dreams.

Everything breaks down again and the champs hit running dives to the floor, setting up the double pose back inside. Back in and Guevara dropkicks Dean, allowing for some bowing. Bravo trips Guevara to the floor though as one fan in the front row insists on standing up. Guevara is put in a fireman’s carry for a face first ram into the post and it’s time to start taking turns on him in the corner.

The chinlock goes on to keep Guevara down but he’s right back up with some chops in the corner. A slingshot cutter gives Bravo two and Rhodes is knocked off the apron to avoid a quick tag. As tends to be the case, the tag goes through shortly thereafter and Rhodes gets to come in and clean house. Cross Rhodes gets two on Dean as Guevara and Bravo fight out to the floor.

Shattered Dreams hits Dean but Shane Taylor pops up for a belt shot to Rhodes. A very delayed cover gets two and the bloody Rhodes is back up for a Canadian Destroyer. Guevara hits a huge springboard moonsault to the floor to take Taylor out, followed by the Final Reckoning to Bravo. Guevara adds the Swanton to retain the titles at 15:03.

Rating: B-. As usual, the match was fine but it’s not like there is any reason to get interested in the Sons Of Texas. They’re coming up on a year as champions and while I’m sure that’s supposed to be interesting, it continues to be Rhodes getting a rather insane push all things considered. Just give us more of a division and more interesting champions. That shouldn’t be asking too much.

Post match the Infantry jumps the champs, with Anthony Ogogo coming in to…not hit Rhodes, as the Von Erichs run in for the save. Rhodes issues the challenge for an eight man tag tomorrow at All In. Note that the Six Man Champions, who have been champions since last July with three title defenses and have not defended their belts since April, will be in action together, but not in a title match.

We recap Nick Wayne vs. Titan for the TV Title. Titan went to a draw in their Proving Ground match so it’s time for the title to be on the line.

TV Title: Titan vs. Nick Wayne

Nick, with Mother Wayne, is defending. Titan jumps him with a running dropkick in the corner but Wayne is right back with a dragon screw legwhip over the ropes to slow him down. They go to the floor for another dragon screw legwhip and Titan is in early trouble. A leglock sends Titan over to the ropes but he’s able to keep his mask on in the corner. The figure four sends Titan to the ropes again as the fans sound like they’re chanting HAPPY BIRTHDAY (apparently Wayne’s birthday was yesterday, so the fans are nice but a bit tardy).

Titan is able to get back up with a running dropkick to send Wayne outside, where a dive takes him down again. They get back to the apron and chop it out, with Titan knocking him down and hitting a top rope double stomp. The knee is too banged up though and they need a breather on the ramp. Back in and the Figure Four has Titan in trouble again, only for him to make the ropes again. Titan gets up and rapid fire strikes away to leave them both down.

A springboard tornado DDT plants Wayne again and he bails to the floor. The bad knee is enough for Titan to hit a running flip dive, followed by a top rope double stomp back inside. Mother Wayne puts the foot on the rope but gets caught, which is enough for the ejection. Titan grabs something like a Muta Lock, sending Wayne over to the ropes for a change. Wayne catches him on top but gets shoved off. Cue Kip Sabian to crotch Titan on top, setting up Wayne’s World for two. The brainbuster retains the title at 16:12.

Rating: B. This was good enough, with Wayne and Titan having good chemistry together. What matters here is that they set the match up and then delivered it well enough. Wayne already has enough going on and he really doesn’t need to be the champion, but at least his matches are going well. Just find a bit more developed story for him.

Post match Christian Cage comes out to hug Wayne and the Patriarchy poses together.

Red Velvet is frustrated about her injury, but she’ll be back to show that she is the real champion when she beats the interim champion. Note that she hasn’t defended the title since April, which was her first defense since January. But we absolutely need an interim champion.

Interim Women’s TV Title: Mina Shirakawa vs. Yuka Sakazaki vs. Persephone vs. Miyu Yamashita

For the vacant title and Red Velvet is at ringside. Persephone bails to the floor to start, leaving the other three to trade headlocks. Back in and Persephone shoulders Sakazaki but has to kick away from Shirakawa’s leglock attempt. Shirakawa’s dancing is broken up as well, with Yamashita taking her place. Yamashita gets kicked out to the floor though and Shirakawa hits a dive, only for Persephone to dive onto both of them.

Sakazaki is back up with a dive of her own, followed by a missile dropkick to Persephone back inside. The Upside Down has Yamashita in trouble before she trades kicks to the head with Sakazaki. Shirakawa is back in with some kicks of her own, followed by a quick dance. Persephone breaks that up and gives Shirakawa a fall away slam for two. A top rope Sling Blade gives Shirakawa two more but Persephone floats over to hammer on Shirakawa.

Yamashita breaks that up with a kick to the face so Persephone grabs her in a bridging backslide for two more. Yamashita slips out of a Razor’s Edge and grabs a quickly broken choke, followed by some hard kicks to the head. An AA gets two with Shirakawa making the save, only to be knocked outside again. Back in and the figure four has Persephone in more trouble, so it’s Sakazaki breaking it up with the Magical Girl Splash. Sakazaki and Persephone knock each other to the floor, leaving Shirakawa to figure four Yamashita for the tap and the title at 13:45.

Rating: B-. The problem here is the match was thrown together earlier in the day, so there is only so much you can get. At the end of the day, it’s four women with no story thrown together for the sake of setting up basically the #1 contender to Red Velvet at some point in the future. It’s nice to see Shirakawa win a title, though I’m not sure if it could feel more minor.

Post match Red Velvet comes in for the staredown.

Syuri is coming. That’s a big one.

We recap Athena defending the Women’s Title against Thunder Rosa. Athena has been champion for the better part of ever and Rosa wants the title. End of build.

Women’s Title: Athena vs. Thunder Rosa

Athena, with Billie Starkz, is defending. They fight over a lockup to start and get nowhere so it’s time to fight over wrist control instead. Rosa grabs the arm and runs the corner to snap it over the top. A springboard dropkick lets Rosa crank on the arm again, which is reverses with a ram into the post. They go outside where Athena Rock Bottoms her onto the barricade to start in on the back.

A double arm crank with a knee between the shoulders has Rosa in more trouble but Athena can’t believe it when Rosa kicks out. Athena ties her up in the ropes and cranks on the neck, followed by a backsplash for a quick two. Back up and they kick it out until Rosa sends her hard into the corner. Rosa is up with a big boot and the running elbow in the corner, followed by a running basement dropkick.

A northern lights suplex gives Rosa two and they’re both down for a bit. Athena gets in a shot of her own but Rosa hurricanranas her out to the floor. That means a dive to take Athena out again and a top rope double stomp gets two back inside. Athena is ready to walk out so Billie Starkz can get in a cheap shot.

This goes rather terribly, but the distraction lets Athena powerbomb Rosa off the ramp through a table. We pause to make sure that Rosa can continue, followed by Athena hitting a backbreaker for two. Rosa catches her on top and gets a triangle choke in the corner, only for Athena to come back with a superbomb. A bow and arrow finally makes Rosa tap at 18:52.

Rating: B. That belt is going to be in Athena’s coffin at this point. There is pretty much no one left to give her a real run for her money for the title, hence bringing in people from AEW. It’s a good match, but Athena has gone so far as the champion that there might be too much pressure on whomever beats her for the title. That being said, Rosa was a good choice for the challenger, though it’s still hard to imagine Athena actually losing the thing.

All In rundown.

We recap Bandido vs. Konosuke Takeshita. Bandido is World Champion, Takeshita wanted a title shot, the show needed a main event.

Ring Of Honor World Title: Bandido vs. Konosuke Takeshita

Bandido is defending and comes out wearing an Aztec headdress, which is very clearly barely hanging on. Bandido’s wristlock doesn’t get him anywhere but the fans are rather pleased either way. They fight over wrist control and an exchange of legsweeps go to a standoff. An exchange of teased dives gives us a double gun pose before Bandido knocks him down. Bandido anklescissors him down, with even Callis having to appreciate it. Takeshita gets rolled down for a double stomp to the ribs but Bandido misses a charge into the post.

Bandido gets posted on the floor as well and Takeshita starts in on the arm. The Fujiwara armbar goes on, sending Bandido straight to the ropes. Back up and Bandido flips over him, setting up a quick dragon screw legwhip. A spinning sunset flip gives Bandido two more but Takeshita hits a Helluva Kick into a Blue Thunder Bomb for the Sami Zayn inspired inspired two. Bandido kicks him in the face but the 21 Plex is blocked, allowing Takeshita to go after the mask.

Callis comes to ringside for a distraction, meaning Bandido’s dive can hit a raised chair. The mask is partially torn and Bandido is bleeding, so Takeshita gives him a brainbuster onto the stage. Even commentary isn’t sure why Takeshita leaves him on the stage, as a countout means no title change. Bandido beats the count so Takeshita bites the cut before slapping on a chinlock. That’s only good for two arm drops though and Bandido muscles him over for a suplex.

A poisonrana sends Takeshita to the floor, meaning Bandido is right there with the running flip dive. Back in and a frog splash gives Bandido two more and they seem to mistime something, though Bandido makes a nifty save with a rollup for two. Angel’s Wings gets two and Bandido grabs Cattle Mutilation. Takeshita gets out and it’s an exchange of clotheslines for a double knockdown.

Back up and Bandido wins a slugout but the 21 Plex is blocked again. Instead it’s the X Knee into the 21 Plex for two and they’re both down for a needed breather. The super fall away slam gives Bandido two more but a shooting star press hits raised knees. Back up and Bandido hits a running superkick before taking the knee pad down. Another X Knee connects but Takeshita is back up with a kneeling tombstone. The running knee gives Takeshita two but Raging Fire is countered into a small package to retain Bandido’s title at 29:23.

Rating: A-. That lived up to the expectations, as this was the “here’s a match that is going to be great no matter what” and then they went out and nailed the whole thing. It was an awesome main event and the time didn’t feel long. Bandido gets a heck of a win under his belt and that is exactly what they were going for here. Great match and one of the best in Ring Of Honor in a long time.

Post match Hechicero comes out and seems to be the next challenger.

Overall Rating: A-. As usual, the Ring Of Honor specials are really good because they know how to do the in-ring stuff. This was built around the idea of focusing on the in-ring stuff and if you ignore the lack of build to some of these matches on the weekly show, it’s awesome stuff. The in-ring side has never been a weak spot for something from Tony Khan and that was the case again here. Awesome show and worth a look, though you can easily skip the Zero Hour as there is nothing worth the extra time on there.

Results
Blake Christian b. Jay Lethal – Vanilla Choke
Dark Order b. Frat House – Discus lariat to Vance
Diamante b. Lady Frost – Hanging Cross Rhodes
Von Erichs b. Premiere Athletes – Moonsault to Nese
Hechicero b. Michael Oku – Headscissor driver
AR Fox b. Adam Priest, Atlantis Jr. and Lee Johnson – Slingshot Canadian Destroyer to Priest
Lee Moriarty b. Blue Panther – STF in the ropes
Sons Of Texas b. Infantry – Swanton to Bravo
Nick Wayne b. Titan – Brainbuster
Mina Shirakawa b. Yuka Sakazaki, Persephone and Miyu Yamashita – Figure four to Yamashita
Athena b. Thunder Rosa – Bow and arrow
Bandido b. Konosuke Takeshita – Small package

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Collision
Date: May 3, 2025
Location: Adrian Phillips Theater At Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness, Adam Cole

We’re just a few weeks away from Double Or Nothing and the card is starting to come together. A lot of that was done earlier this week on Dynamite, but tonight is going to be focused more on the in-ring side of things. This week featured a 2/3 falls match between FTR and the Paragon, which should be rather snazzy. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Adam Cole joins commentary.

Toni Storm vs. Lady Frost

Non-title. They fight over a headlock to start until Frost headscissors her out to the floor. A flip dive off the apron hits Storm and they go back inside as the camera is a bit lower than usual. Storm hits a backbreaker but a chokebomb is countered into a rollup for two. Frost cannonballs her in the corner and a spinning crossbody gets two more. Storm chokebombs her out of the corner for a near fall but gets caught with the Chiller Driller for another near fall. Back up and Storm sends her into the corner for the hip attack, setting up the TCM Chickenwing (oh dear) for the win at 5:37.

Rating: C+. Storm having a new hold to use is a fine way to go and it’s nice to see Frost getting in some ring time. She’s not likely to be a top star but the athleticism and unique look are enough to warrant a few more shots. This was little more than a way to keep Storm warm before her eventual next title defense and that’s a fine use of a few minutes.

Post match Storm says a lot of people are coming for her but she comes for everyone. She runs outside and says she’s out here on the Boardwalk, seemingly inviting challengers. Well that was different.

Jon Moxley, with Marina Shafir, says the people around Samoa Joe are dropping like flies. Joe is beyond reproach in wrestling but so was Bryan Danielson. If you want to lock Moxley inside a cage go ahead, because he’s good at his job. Joe better know what he’s doing.

Sammy Guevara vs. Rush vs. Kevin Knight vs. AR Fox

Dustin Rhodes is here with Guevara (who is in his first AEW match since October) and the winner of this gets $100,000. Rush and Knight clear the ring to start and slug it out with Rush taking over off a headbutt. Back up and Knight grabs a slam before stereo dropkicks give us a standoff. Fox and Guevara come in with Fox hitting a slingshot hilo for two as we take a break.

Back with Fox DDTing a charging Knight onto the apron as Hologram is watching from the rafters. Fox dives onto Knight but Rush is back up to send various people into various objects. A charging Knight is sent crashing onto the ramp and the two of them brawl to the back. Back in and Fox gives Guevara Lo Mein Pain into a 450 for two. The Swanton misses though and Guevara hits the GTH for the pin at 10:36.

Rating: B-. Well ok then. Guevara hasn’t been around in over six months and just pops up to win a match here. This feels like the kind of match designed for Knight, who could use a spotlight, to win but instead we’ll go with Guevara. I’m not opposed to having Guevara around more often, but bringing the ROH Tag Team Titles up with him isn’t a great thing to see as there are already way too many belts floating around.

Post match Guevara points to Adam Cole, who seems interested.

Samoa Joe wanted the title match to be in a cage because he knows Jon Moxley doesn’t have the heart to face him man to man.

Video on FTR vs. the Paragon.

Megan Bayne vs. Harley Cameron

Penelope Ford is here with Bayne. Cameron jumps her to start and hammers away in the corner, which doesn’t get Cameron very far. A step up enziguri connects for Cameron but Bayne is right back with an overhead belly to belly. Another suplex has Cameron in trouble but she comes back with Eat Defeat. Bayne runs her over though and we take a break. Back with Cameron biting the neck (ok then) and hitting a tornado DDT for two. Bayne’s Falcon Arrow gets two and a sitout powerbomb cuts off the comeback attempt for two. Cameron slugs away but dives into Face’s Descent for the pin at 9:18.

Rating: C. This was about all it needed to be, as Bayne gets to look like a dominant monster and crush the popular star in Cameron. The fans aren’t going to be happy with seeing one of their favorites lose and it’s going to take someone more special to stop Bayne. Good thinking here, even if the match was just ok.

Post match the beatdown continues so Anna Jay runs in with a 2×4 to Bayne’s back. It doesn’t seem to hurt her but Bayne does at least leave.

Here are Jon Moxley and Marina Shafir for a chat (rather than the scheduled match). Moxley isn’t sure what Samoa Joe is talking about because Joe thinks he’s going to beat Moxley up. The reality is that Moxley has faced every supposed tough guy in wrestling from every promotion. Those people realize they’re in a war, but the reality is Moxley and the Death Riders know they have been in a war the entire time. I have no idea why Moxley needed a second promo.

The Outrunners are ready for Roppongi Vice.

Josh Alexander vs. Brody King

Alexander grinds on a headlock to start but King sends him into the corner and unloads with some chops. They head outside with King hitting a Death Valley Driver, followed by a suplex. Alexander moves before he can get crushed against the barricade but gets punched out of the air. Back up and Alexander drops him onto the apron and we take a break.

Back with the two of them chopping it out, with King getting the better of the beating. Alexander takes the straps down and tells King to chop harder, which is fine with King. That earns King a torture rack slam but King is back with a swinging Boss Man Slam to put Alexander down again.

King Cannonballs him in the corner, setting up a top rope superplex to drop Alexander for two as we have one minute left. Alexander starts going after the leg but can’t keep the ankle lock. King is back up with a German suplex and the Ganso Bomb but Alexander rolls outside for the time limit draw at 15:00.

Rating: B-. This was pretty close to a hoss fight, though I’m a little surprised to see the draw. Alexander is still new around here and needs a few big wins, while King is mostly used to put others over. That being said, I do like seeing King avoid another loss, as he’s had WAY too many of those in the last few months. Let him look better, but maybe try it with a bigger win next time.

Post match King goes after Alexander and gets in a brawl with Lance Archer for a bonus.

Video on Cru.

Here is Max Caster, who says we just got a fifteen minute draw but no one could hang with him for five minutes. Tonight’s challenge has a five minute time limit and, after Caster nearly cracks up doing his chant, we’re ready to go.

Daniel Garcia vs. Max Caster

A fisherman’s neckbreaker and a piledriver finish Caster at 59 seconds.

Post match Garcia says he’ll deal with FTR after their match.

Anthony Bowens is ready to move on but Blake Christian and Lee Johnson come in to say they’re both better than Bowens. That’s fine with Bowens, who is ready to mollywop either of them.

Gates Of Agony vs. Ray Jazz/Goldy

Pounce, running shots in the corner, Open The Gates finishes Jazz at 1:17.

Post match Bryan Keith and Big Bill pop up on screen from the parking lot to call out the Gates Of Agony. Post break the Gates show up in the parking lot and the brawl is on. A local wrestler gets jumped as well…and we just leave with the fight continuing.

FTR vs. Paragon

2/3 falls and Stokely Hathaway is here with FTR. Wheeler slips out of O’Reilly’s choke to start before having to duck a kick to the head. Harwood comes in to chop away at Strong, which Cole would not recommend. It’s back to O’Reilly to fire off kicks at both of them as everything breaks down. A series of strikes takes FTR down and an ankle lock with a grapevine makes Harwood tap at 4:48.

We take a break and come back with FTR hitting a double clothesline for two on O’Reilly. Wheeler grabs a chinlock but O’Reilly fights up and hands it back to Strong to pick up the pace. The running forearms in the ropes set up the belly to back faceplant for two on Harwood. Everything breaks down and FTR are put in the same chair on the floor (and it breaks), allowing O’Reilly to hit a dropkick from the apron.

Harwood and Wheeler fight into the crowd but Wheeler is back in to take out Strong’s leg. We take another break and come back with O’Reilly cleaning house but Harwood breaks up an ankle lock. Harwood comes in and gets backdropped but is right back with the Shatter Machine to pin Strong and tie it up at 17:32.

Another Shatter Machine is broken up though and Paragon goes high/low on Harwood for the pin…but Wheeler puts the foot on the rope so it’s waved off. O’Reilly makes Wheeler tap to an ankle lock, which means nothing because Wheeler isn’t legal. Instead Wheeler rakes the eyes and Harwood grabs a rollup with trunks for two. Another Shatter Machine finishes O’Reilly at 20:02.

Rating: B. FTR has to be next for the Hurt Syndicate right? Or at least one of the next, as it isn’t like there are many dominant teams around here. It would be nice to see FTR getting the shot and this was a good way to build them up. Paragon looked good enough here as usual, which shouldn’t be a surprise, and it isn’t like they have anything important going on at the moment.

Post match Daniel Garcia comes out with a crowbar but says he respects FTR too much to do that. Now though, he’s stuck looking for answers and he wants to beat them out of FTR next week.

Overall Rating: B-. The main event was the boost that the show needed, but this was still one of the shows that didn’t feel overly important. It felt like a show that kind of came and went on the way to something bigger down the line. Some stuff was advanced or set up so it certainly didn’t feel like a waste of time, but it was very Collision-esque, in that it didn’t feel like a show you needed to see.

Results
Toni Storm b. Lady Frost – TCM Chickenwing
Sammy Guevara b. Rush, Kevin Knight and AR Fox – GTH to Fox
Megan Bayne b. Harley Cameron – Fate’s Descent
Brody King vs. Josh Alexander went to a time limit draw
Daniel Garcia b. Max Caster – Piledriver
Open The Gates b. Ray Jazz/Goldy – Open The Gates to Jazz
FTR b. Paragon 2-1

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Ring Of Honor
Date: March 13, 2025
Location: Oakland Arena, Oakland, California
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We’re still on the way to nothing announced at the moment as there is no major show set for Wrestlemania Weekend thus far. In theory a major showdown could take place on Collision, but I’m not sure what that is going to be. Right now it seems like Chris Jericho against Bandido, but we’ve already done that recently. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

We run down the card.

Spanish Announce Project vs. Alpha Zo/CSJ

Zo works on Angelico’s arm to start as commentary makes some jokes about the non-stars’ names. Angelico ties up Zo’s arms with his feet before it’s off to Serpentico to stay on the arm. CSJ comes in and gets double superkicked until Serpentico gets to hammer away on Zo against the ropes. It’s back to CSJ for a running back elbow to the back and we hit the chinlock as we hear about JTG training CSJ (dang I feel old).

Serpentico comes back with a double Downward Spiral and it’s Angelico coming in again to strike away. CSJ gets in a shot though and is smart enough to drag Zo over to the right corner (a move that should be done more often). It’s back to CSJ, who is immediately tied up in a reverse figure four to give Angelico the tap at 6:43.

Rating: C+. Zo and CSJ got in a bit more than you might have expected here and they looked smarter than your run of the mill jobbers. Maybe they can turn into something down the road, but that is likely going to be a long way off. The Project being back is nice, but spare me from buying what commentary was saying about them getting back into the title picture.

We look at Chris Jericho unmasking Gravity and attacking him in front of his family.

We get Jericho’s promo from Dynamite, as he holds Gravity’s mask and mocks Bandido for scaring his family and unmasking his brother.

Blake Christian vs. Titus Alexander

Christian won’t shake hands so Alexander (hometown boy) says ring the bell, earning himself a slap in the face to start. The ensuing chase lets Christian stomp away on the way back in as commentary isn’t sure what to make of him. Alexander gets in a slap to the face and knocks Christian outside, where Christian whips him into the barricade a few times.

Christian kicks away back inside but yells at the referee, allowing Alexander to get a boot up in the corner. A Lethal Injection sends Christian outside and there’s the big flip dive. Back in and Christian avoids a charge into the corner, only to get caught with a running knee for two. Christian slips out of a rolling Chaos Theory though and hits a stomp, setting up Vanilla Choke Zero (that’s a great name) for the tap at 6:50.

Rating: B-. I was expecting nothing here and Alexander worked as hard as he could to get over here. It wouldn’t stun me to see him getting another shot around here, possibly even something a bit more regularly. Christian has become a little something around here too and that is something of a surprise. I’ll take what I can get, but it isn’t going to matter unless Christian gets somewhere.

Leila Grey is ready to step up.

Leila Grey vs. Lady Frost

Frost armdrags her down to start as commentary talks about which woman should get the first action figure from Ring Of Honor. Thankfully Ian realizes it should be Athena as Grey sends her into the corner, only to get chopped for her efforts. More chops set up some running shoulders in the corner but Grey is right back with a dragon sleeper of all things. That’s broken up and they fight over a small package for two each. Frost kicks her down in the corner and hits a handspring cannonball. A spinning kick to the head misses though and Grey grabs a fluke rollup for the pin at 4:31.

Rating: C. Grey is someone who could get a chance somewhere if she is given the chance and while we’re a good way off from that, a clean pin is only going to help things. She has come a long way in a short amount of time and it would be nice to see her do something else. The same is true for Frost, but she seems a lot less likely to get the shot.

Premiere Athletes/Frat House vs. Top Flight/Gates Of Agony

The brawl starts on the floor with the good guys taking over and we settle down to Dante and Daivari inside. Nese comes in and takes Dante into the wrong corner before a legsweep gets two. Dante armdrags Karter into the wrong corner though and a string of slingshot hilos get two. Vance gets in a cheap shot on the floor though and Darius is in trouble for a change.

The villains and their seconds get in some group stomping before Daivari grabs a chinlock. That’s broken up and everything breaks down with Kaun Cactus Clotheslining Karter outside. Toa throws Dante onto the pile before going to the floor to clean house. Even Mark Sterling gets taken down (Ian: “I don’t need my birthday and I don’t need Christmas. That was awesome!”). Back in and Open The Gates finishes Vance at 8:25.

Rating: C+. Apparently Toa is from this area so this was a great homecoming for him as he was looking great out there. At the same time, commentary hyped up the Gates and Top Flight as potential title contenders. Say it with me: THEN DO SOMETHING WITH THEM AND THE CHAMPIONS! That’s one of the biggest issues with ROH: we keep hearing about how people are moving into title contention and then they never actually do it. If you want the Gates or Top Flight to be champions then cool, but actually GO THERE ALREADY.

Last week, Dark Panther wouldn’t shake Komander’s hand before their title match next week.

Aaron Solo vs. Dark Panthers

Komander is in the audience again. They forearm it out to start before heading outside, where Panther drops him face first onto the apron. Solo gets in a shot of his own though and hits a top rope double stomp for two. A tilt-a-whirl backbreaker gives Panther two of his own before going for the arm, which sends Solo to the ropes. Panther hurricanranas him to the floor and hits a pair of dives. Solo gets sent into the barricade right in front of Panther but Solo uses the distraction to hit a spinning kick to the head. Panther kicks him down though and hits a middle rope basement dropkick for the pin at 5:40.

Rating: C+. This was designed to get Panther built up for the TV Title match next week. That’s been the case for the last few weeks and that has made it work just a bit better. They’re actually putting together a story here and even if Panther winning feels like a long shot, the story has gone pretty well. If feels like they’re actually doing something and that helps so much.

Post match Komander and Panther have a rather aggressive staredown.

Lee Johnson vs. Katsuyori Shibata

Johnson won’t shake hands to start so Shibata starts in on the arm. A stomp to the arm lets Shibata start working on the leg, including a Figure Four. Johnson makes the ropes so Shibata of course breaks it up, allowing Shibata to come back with a headlock. That’s broken up as well and Shibata chops him to the floor, meaning the chase is on.

Shibata changes directions in a smart move but gets kicked in the ribs to slow him down in an even smarter move. Back in and Johnson stomps away before going to the eyes to keep Shibata in trouble. Shibata isn’t having any of Johnson’s chops though and chops right back, followed by a running dropkick in the corner. Johnson brainbusters him down but Shibata grabs an STO into a cross armbreaker, sending Johnson over to the ropes. The PK finishes for Shibata at 8:18.

Rating: B-. Shibata is one of those guys who is going to put in a good performance against anyone and that was the case here too. He’s incredibly smooth in the ring and made Johnson look better. Again though, it would be nice if he actually did something of note rather than just having one off matches like this.

The Frat House doesn’t mind the loss because it’s time to drink. The Dark Order comes in and tells Vance to grow up. Vance points out that they haven’t won anything and leaves. Fair point.

Mistico/Esfinge/Atlantis vs. Rocky Romero/Valiente/Euforia

It’s a series of strikes to start until Mistico gets caught in the corner for some running clotheslines. Esfinge gets beaten up as well with a top rope splash getting two. Atlantis gets beaten down for a bit but makes it over to Mistico, who is triple teamed again. Mistico handspring elbows his way out of trouble and hits a springboard hurricanrana to take out Euforia on the floor.

Back in and Esfinge gets to clean some house but Euforia takes Atlantis down without much trouble. Euforia chops his partners by mistake and Atlantis gets to snap off some tilt-a-whirl backbreakers. We settle down to Mistico vs. Valiente, with the fans being rather behind the former. Mistico ties him in the ropes for a kick to the chest before sending Romero outside. A big dive to the floor takes Euforia out again so Esfinge comes in to avoid some double teaming. Everything breaks down and La Mistica makes Euforia tap at 9:45.

Rating: B-. As usual, the CMLL stars do rather well, but also as usual, it feels like something that is just tacked on because it can be there. I’m not sure why they are on every show and while I’m enjoying the matches, I could go for them mixing it up a bit. Also, as has been the case before, the idea of having Mistico available and using him in this spot, basically unannounced, is slightly insane.

Overall Rating: B-. The wrestling here was good this week, if not better than usual, but egads this show had so many frustrations piled together. It feels like the same people are getting the same spots but there is almost nothing for them to be fighting about. Other than the Jericho video that we saw earlier in the week, titles and champions weren’t factors on this show. If there’s nothing for these people to be fighting over, why are they fighting? Ring Of Honor might want to figure that out. I mean they won’t, but they might want to.

Results
Spanish Announce Project b. CSJ/Alpha Zo – Reverse figure four to CSJ
Blake Christian b. Titus Alexander – Vanilla Coke Zero
Leila Grey b. Lady Frost – Rollup
Gates Of Agony/Top Flight b. Premiere Athletes/Frat House – Open The Gates to Vance
Dark Panther b. Aaron Solo – Middle rope basement dropkick
Mistico/Esfinge/Atlantis b. Rocky Romero/Valiente/Euforia – La Mistica to Euforia

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Ring Of Honor
Date: February 27, 2025
Location: H-E-B Center At Cedar Park, Cedar Park, Texas
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

Last week’s show featured one match from the CMLL stars and now we are going to be seeing a bunch more of them. That’s at least something different from what we usually get around here, which has been the case in the last few weeks. Other than that, Chris Jericho is going to need a new challenger, though I’m not sure if we’ll be seeing that established here. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

We run down the card.

Atlantis/Esfinge/Fuego vs. Euforia/Gran Guerrero/Rocky Romero

Gran kicks Atlantis (62 years old) to start but walks into some armdrags. Atlantis gets knocked outside so it’s off to Fuego vs. Romero. Fuego dances a bit, then sends Romero and company to the floor for some more dancing. Esfinge comes in for some superkicks and a heck of a monkey flip to Romero. A springboard splash misses Euforia though and Romero decks Esfinge to take over again.

Euforia hits his own springboard splash so Fuego comes in and gets caught with a package tiger driver for two. Romero and company triple team Atlantis and Romero goes for the mask, which seems rather evil for him. Atlantis manages a quick high crossbody and Romero hits Guerrero by mistake. Euforia gets knocked down as well but he comes back up to kick Guerrero by mistake as well. Fuego comes in to clean house as everything breaks down. Back in and Esfinge grabs a wacky leg tying rollup to pin Romero at 7:44.

Rating: B-. The match was the usual fun stuff, though a good number of these people have an AEW/ROH background of commentary telling us that they’re awesome. That’s the issue with guest stars like this, as they’re very talented, but I have little to no idea who some of them are as they’re barely around here. It’s a nice enough treat though, and it was a good choice for an opener.

La Catalina vs. Lady Frost

Catalina takes her to the mat to start, which goes to a standoff. An exchange of quick near falls gives us another standoff before Catalina scores with a dropkick. The running hip attack against the ropes gets two but Frost is back up with a running clothesline. Frost’s front flip into a Cannonball connects for two and they’re back up for an exchange of forearms.

A German suplex drops Catalina and Frost adds a spinning slam for two more. Catalina is rocked and a corkscrew dive from the top gets another near fall. Back up and Catalina sends her into the corner and comes out with an electric chair drop, setting up a top rope splash to end Frost at 7:43.

Rating: C+. Frost had a good showing here, though Catalina seemed to be a bit more smooth out there. If the CMLL stars are staying around, Catalina getting a one off shot at Athena would be a fine way to go. It isn’t like there is anyone else to come after the title at the moment, so see what they have here.

We look back at Chris Jericho retaining the ROH World Title over Bandido on Collision.

The Beast Mortos vs. Adam Priest

Priest chops away to start but his sunset flip attempt is easily blocked. A knee to the leg actually cuts Mortos off and a middle rope dropkick to the back gives Priest two. Mortos shrugs it off and hits his big backbreaker into the spinning piledriver for the pin at 3:17.

Rating: C. It was nice to see Priest get in a bit of offense but Mortos has a tendency to let everyone get in their stuff. Mortos is someone who can do quite a few things against anyone, which is why he’s here winning not quite squash matches on Ring Of Honor. Find something better for him to do already. If nothing else, it might help fill in some of the empty seats which were very visible during this match (which was taped in Tennessee rather than Texas).

Infantry vs. Jimmy Wild/Rosario Grillo

Shane Taylor is here with the Infantry. Dean powers Grillo into the corner to start but Wild comes in for a double suplex. The Infantry shrugs that off and takes over, allowing Taylor to talk to the camera. A backbreaker puts Wild down and a spinning slam drops him again. Wild manages a double DDT but Bravo cuts off the tag and sends Grillo into the barricade. A running double stomp finishes Wild at 4:44.

Rating: C. Of all the perfectly watchable Infantry matches I’ve seen, this was the latest. We’ve seen them do their thing for months, if not years now, and it’s only so good. As is the case with so many people in Ring Of Honor, it would be nice to see them actually do something new or different for a change but here we are, seeing the same kind of match that we’ve seen them have for so long.

Blake Christian vs. Fuego del Sol

Christian jumps him during the entrance and takes him outside for some standing on the head on the barricade. Back in and Fuego’s rope walk is cut off, allowing Christian to rake his boot over Fuego’s mask. Christian sends him outside again for a dive but Fuego is back with a kick to the head. A springboard moonsault gives Fuego two and a rope walk moonsault DDT gets the same. Christian crotches him on top though and a super Spanish Fly sets up the Last Chancery for the win at 5:23.

Rating: C+. I’m not sure what to make of Christian as the most boring wrestler alive but they’re leaning into it, which helps quite a bit. As has been the case before though, he actually needs to do something and move up the ladder but that’s not how it works around here most of the time. Fuego was almost squashed here, which is pretty normal for him.

Athena is impressed by Catalina but is sick of people trying to show up here and take over her show. Next time, Athena won’t be so nice. They’re set for a title match next week. I mean, it’s not like Athena has fought a bunch of random challengers over and over and could be moved up to AEW already and put near the top of the women’s division. Because of course.

Dark Panther vs. Gravity

Panther flips over him to start and grabs an ankle lock as we look at Komander in the crowd. Back up and Gravity sends him to the floor for the running flip dive. They get back inside with Panther hitting a 619, then swinging his feet into Gravity a second time. Back up and they slug it out until Panther misses a charge in the corner.

A bridging German suplex gives Gravity two but he has to get to the ropes to escape a Fujiwara armbar. Gravity is sent to the floor for a suicide dive, followed by another to drop him again. A middle rope elbow misses for Panther, just like Gravity’s top rope splash. Panther hits a middle rope basement dropkick for the pin at 6:47.

Rating: B-. Another entertaining match here with someone who has been here a few times and you might remember, plus Gravity, who hasn’t been around for a year. It’s another match where there is only so much to get interested in here, which is a problem with shows like this. And Ring Of Honor in general.

Atlantis Jr./Mascara Dorada/Templario vs. Magnus/Soberano Jr./Volador Jr.

Soberano and company aren’t interested in handshakes so Templario spins over Magnus and armdrags him down. Some headscissors let Templario clear the ring, meaning it’s time for some dancing. Dives take the villains out on the floor and it’s Dorada coming in with a high crossbody. Dorada clears the ring and hits a middle rope hurricanrana on Magnus.

Back in and Dorada gets tied in the Tree Of Woe, leaving Soberano to mock the fans. Atlantis comes in and won’t get in a cheap shot, earning himself a beating. Soberano makes Atlantis flip his partners off and a triple boot knocks Atlantis outside. It’s off to Templario, who gets caught in a rocking horse/Fameasser combination.

Dorada gets beaten up as well and it’s back to Atlantis, who manages to start the comeback. A monkey flip sends Magnus flying but Volador hurricanranas Templario out of the corner. Soberano comes back in to pick up the pace but Templario grabs a wheelbarrow suplex. Templario spins up, only to get caught with a 619 from Magnus. Back up and Atlantis powerslams Magnus, setting up the top rope splash for the pin at 12:55.

Rating: B. Issues aside with how this doesn’t mean much of anything around here, this is the kind of entertaining showcase of talent that you do not get to see around here very often. These are incredibly talented people and they know how to do this style rather well. If this is the focus of the show, they could have done far worse for a main event.

Overall Rating: B. I have no idea what to make of this show anymore. They tried adding in the classic matches and they added nothing, so now we’re seeing things like the Jericho Cruise and the CMLL guest stars. There is still nothing to suggest that TV is coming anytime soon and I can’t say I’m surprised. The show is just not that interesting and that shows more and more every time. The guest stars here were fun, but they’re going to be gone in a week or two and then it’s back to the same stuff that hasn’t worked for months around here.

Results
Atlantis/Esfinge/Fuego b. Euforia/Gran Guerrero/Rocky Romero – Leg trap rollup to Romero
Catalina b. Lady Frost – Top rope splash
The Beast Mortos b. Adam Priest – Spinning piledriver
Infantry b. Jimmy Wild/Rosario Grillo – Running double stomp to Wild
Blake Christian b. Fuego del Sol – Last Chancery
Dark Panther b. Gravity – Middle rope basement dropkick
Atlantis Jr./Mascara Dorada/Templario b. Magnus/Soberano Jr./Volador Jr. – Top rope splash to Magnus

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Ring Of Honor
Date: January 23, 2025
Location: Andrew J. Brady Music Center, Cincinnati, Ohio
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

It’s the 100th episode and that means we should be getting something special around here. The key word there is “should”, as this show certainly doesn’t follow the norm for a wrestling series. We do at least have a TV Title match, as QT Marshall and Komander are this show’s version of a big showdown. Let’s get to it.

Mark Briscoe congratulates ROH on 100 episodes.

Opening sequence.

We run down the card.

TV Title: QT Marshall vs. Komander

Komander is defending and is quickly powered down to start. Marshall sends him to the corner and then the apron, only to get caught with a quick hurricanrana. They go outside where Marshall chops the post by mistake but is fine enough to hit an elbow back inside. A Lionsault gives Marshall two but Komander knocks him outside.

That means a big dive to take Marshall down again, setting up a high crossbody for two back inside. Marshall gets his boots up to block another moonsault, only to get caught with a Code Red for two. A 450 to the apron misses but Marshall goes after Alex Abrahantes. That’s enough for Komander to grab a springboard Code Red, allowing Cielito Lindo to retain the title at 9:41.

Rating: C+. And that’s the big match on the show, which had a pretty hard cap on it coming in. Komander isn’t so much presented as a big deal as much as he is presented as someone who is around a lot. Beating Marshall doesn’t mean much because Marshall doesn’t mean much, and Komander is regularly just a warm body to get beaten up in E. Having him win here is fine, but the AEW losses need to stop if this title is supposed to mean anything.

Post match Lee Johnson comes out for a staredown with Komander, who is more than game.

Leila Grey vs. Marti Belle

Grey starts fast with a rollup for two and then runs Belle over for a crash. A flipping neckbreaker drops Belle but she catches Grey on top. Belle hits a running shot in the corner and gets in some posing, followed by a running shot to the face. The chinlock is countered with a jawbreaker and Grey makes the comeback. A neckbreaker into a dragon sleeper makes Belle tap at 4:30.

Rating: C. Grey continues to improve and there is a chance that she could be something if she is given the chance and some more time. That’s the kind of thing that we need around here but it might take some time to get there. For now though, I’ll take a nice win over someone with a bit of name value as Grey gets some ring time.

Outrunners vs. Rosario Grillo/Jon Cruz

Magnum works on Cruz’s arm to start and the non Outrunners need a breather on the floor. They use said breather to STOMP ON THE OUTRUNNERS’ SUNGLASSES, meaning it’s time for a Hennig necksnap on Cruz. The Mega Powers Elbow sets up Total Recall to finish Grillo at 3:38.

Rating: C. Pretty much a squash for the Outrunners here and that’s fine, as the fans are going to go nuts for them no matter what they are doing. They are the definition of a fun act and that is what AEW/ROH could use in a big way. Let them come out there and let them pop the crowd a bit.

Athena is proud of 100 episodes and she’ll be back soon.

The Beast Mortos vs. Lord Crewe

Mortos uses the ropes to flip out of a wristlock to start before going after the leg. La majistral gets two on Crewe and they fight up to a standoff. Crewe kicks him down but Mortos is back with a pop up Samoan drop. A running forearm gives Crewe two but Mortos hits the spinning piledriver for the pin at 4:04.

Rating: C. I’m not sure why Mortos gives up so much in his matches as he is the definition of someone who can run through all kinds of people but he’s going move for move with someone like Crewe. That’s a nice way to make Crewe look good, but you might want to use someone other than Mortos to do that.

From International Challenge.

Tag Team Titles: Christopher Daniels/Matt Sydal vs. Cima/Shingo

Daniels and Sydal are defending. Shingo and Daniels start things off with Shingo pulling him down by the leg to take over. The bigger Shingo runs him over with a shoulder but Daniels, with a lot of momentum, does the same to take Shingo down. Sydal comes in for a spinwheel kick and it’s off to Cima, with the fans approving.

Cima runs Sydal over and it’s back to Daniels, who gets elbowed in the face for his efforts. Sydal comes back in and snapmares Cima down to crank on the neck before Daniels gets two off a slam. A belly to back suplex/springboard elbow to the face combination gets two on Cima but Shingo comes in to choke Sydal down. Shingo starts working on the leg before sending him into the barricade, setting up Cima’s seated full nelson.

More leg cranking ensues before Sydal is caught in a swinging sleeper toss. A cutter/wheelbarrow faceplant combination gets two but Sydal manages a DDT and dropkick. The tag brings Daniels in to clean house and everything breaks down, with Sydal hitting a moonsault out to the floor. Back in and Sydal gets powerbombed into the corner before it’s back to Daniels, who gets caught in an Indian Deathlock.

Cima ties Daniels’ legs up for a brainbuster and a near fall, with Sydal diving in for a tornado DDT. Shingo nails Sydal with a lariat to leave everyone down as the fans approve. Cima superkicks Shingo by mistake and it’s a release Rock Bottom into the BME into the shooting star press to give Sydal the pin on Shingo at 23:52.

Rating: B. Good stuff here, with the champions feeling like they were fighting from underneath and capitalizing on Cima’s mistake with the superkick. Daniels and Sydal looked good as a team even when they felt like they escaped with a win here. It’s a nice match, though I’m not sure how much of a Daniels show case this really was.

Leila Grey wants the Women’s TV Title.

Taya Valkyrie vs. Lady Frost

Deonna Purrazzo is here with Valkyrie, who powers Frost down to start and hammers away on the mat. Back up and Frost kicks her out to the floor and we pause for a breather. Back in and Valkyrie knocks her down again but gets dropkicked in the back for her efforts. Valkyrie gets in another knockdown and we hit the chinlock to slow things down again. That’s broken up and Frost hits a flipping Cannonball in the corner for two. A Blue Thunder Bomb sets up Shania Pain to finish Frost at 6:00.

Rating: C. This was a back and forth match but it was only so interesting. Frost is someone who is there to make someone else look good and she did it well enough here, but there was only so much that was going to work here. Valkyrie feels like someone who has been around for awhile and not done much, with this match not really doing much to elevate her.

Jacked Jameson pitches a new group to Cole Karter, Griff Garrison and Preston Vance but they aren’t overly interested. Thinking about it is promise.

Gates Of Agony vs. Jay Lucas/Terry Yaki

Lucas strikes away at Kaun to absolutely no effect. A heck of a clothesline into a German suplex drops Lucas and it’s off to Yaki, who is beaten down down as well. That means it’s back to Lucas, who gets planted with a double spinebuster for the pin at 2:15.

Chris Jericho talks about the greatness of Ring Of Honor and lists off some historic names, albeit ARMBAR style with various Jericho names coming up over and over.

Shane Taylor vs. Katsuyori Shibata

The rest of Shane Taylor Promotions are here too. The larger Taylor powers him up against the ropes but Shibata strikes his way out of trouble. Taylor strikes him out to the floor and Shibata gets sent into the barricade for a crash. Some heavy forearms set up the chinlock but Shibata is right back up. A clothesline gives Taylor two but he misses a charge into the corner and gets chopped a lot. They strike it out until the Marcus Garvey Driver gives Taylor two. Welcome To The Land is blocked though and Shibata grabs the sleeper. The PK finishes Taylor at 7:18.

Rating: C. Not a bad match but I’m not sure why I’m supposed to stay interested in Taylor and his Promotions when they lose so often. We’ve been seeing hype videos for Taylor and company for weeks now and here their leader just loses clean. I get the idea of having Shibata look good because he’s a bigger star, but there was little reason for him to go over Taylor completely clean here. Just pick someone else for Shibata to beat.

Post match the Promotions jumps Shibata and beats him down. Daniel Garcia and the Undisputed Kingdom make the save. The Kingdom showing up is a nice touch for the anniversary show.

Don Callis and Konosuke Takeshita pop up to challenge Katsuyori Shibata for Collision. I have no idea why this needed to be on Ring Of Honor.

Overall Rating: C. So that’s the big milestone show and I’m not sure what was supposed to be special about this. They did throw in a few cameos with the congratulations and the Undisputed Kingdom at the end was nice, but the wrestling itself was absolutely nothing special. It was a run of the mill show and while nothing was bad, it was another show you didn’t need to see. It also doesn’t help that the classic match, which was good, was longer than the three longest new matches combined. It’s just extending the show and easily could have been trimmed down to about five minutes. Not much to see here, as usual.

Results
Komander b. QT Marshall – Cielito Lindo
Leila Grey b. Marti Belle – Dragon sleeper
Outrunners b. Rosario Grillo/Jon Cruz – Total Recall to Grillo
The Beast Mortos b. Lord Crewe – Spinning piledriver
Taya Valkyrie b. Lady Frost – Shania Pain
Gates Of Agony b. Jay Lucas/Terry Yaki – Double spinebuster to Lucas
Katsuyori Shibata b. Shane Taylor – PK

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Ring Of Honor
Date: December 19, 2024
Location: Chaifetz Arena, St. Louis, Missouri
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

It’s the night before Final Battle and that probably means we’re going to be getting a bunch of matches added to the card. That should open up the door for some important stuff, but this show has a hit and miss track record. Hopefully the show makes me want to see Final Battle more than I do coming in so let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

We run down the card.

Lee Johnson vs. Bishop Kaun

EJ Nduka and Toa Liona are here too. Johnson can’t do much with the power to start as Kaun easily powers him into the corner. Back up and Johnson picks up the pace, with a running dropkick sending Kaun outside. The dive connects but Kaun is smart enough to tie the leg up in the ropes to take over. After a random stomp on the arm, Kaun cranks on the leg and dragon screw whips it out of the corner.

The half crab sends Johnson over to the ropes so Kaun blasts him with a clothesline. The goo leg lets Johnson hit a basement superkick into an enziguri, setting up a standing moonsault for two. Kaun catches him on top for a superplex though and some knees to the ribs get two of his own. A double underhook is loaded up but Johnson reverses into a jackknife rollup for the pin at 8:28.

Rating: C+. Standard speed vs. power match here with Johnson hanging in there against the rather strong Kaun. It makes Johnson 1-1 against the Gates of Agony an odds are it leads to a tag match at Final battle to give Nduka a showcase. That’s not a bad idea and it comes after a good enough match here.

Post match a fight is teased but Kaun whispers something to Liona, who backs down from Nduka.

Lee Moriarty is ready for anyone at Final Battle.

Leyla Hirsch and Red Velvet go face to face in the back and they’re ready to fight at Final Battle.

Lady Frost vs. Queen Aminata

Aminata shoves her down to start and they trade forearms, with Aminata getting the better of things. Frost gets in some kicks to drop Aminata and a standing moonsault gives her two. A fisherman’s suplex gives Frost two and we hit the chinlock. Back up and Aminata kicks her in the face for two but Frost scores with a kick of her own. The handspring cannonball gives Frost two more but she misses a spinning kick to the head. Aminata ties her up in something like an Octopus with the legs wrapped up for the tap at 6:44.

Rating: C+. This is a good example of a match between two people who have nothing going on. They’re both just kind of there and having decent matches without moving up the ladder. The match was ok enough but neither of them are going anywhere and it’s hard to get interested in whatever they’re doing here.

The Righteous go to Dustin Rhodes’ wrestling school and jump him (as he’s vacuuming the ring). They choke him out and bust him open before calling Sammy Guevara to promise more at Final Battle.

Murder Machines vs. Iron Savages

Don Callis and Jacked Jameson are here too. Cage and Boulder trade shoulders to start until Cage snaps off a suplex. Bronson comes in and Archer crossbodies him down without much trouble. A crossbody out of the corner gets Boulder out of trouble and a double chokeslam drops Archer. The Beefcake Bomb gets two but Cage is back in for the save. Archer’s splash gets two more and everything breaks down. The chokeslam/powerbomb combination finishes Bronson at 5:23.

Rating: C. Archer and Cage are a fine power team but my goodness I never need to see the Savages again. They’re the whipping boys of ROH/AEW and just hearing their music makes me want to fast forward. The Machines beat them up well enough here but it’s another case of “here’s a match to remind you that the winners are in fact still here”.

QT Marshall is late to a face to face meeting with Jay Lethal. They bicker about Lethal wanting to get back to the top of ROH while Marshall has to deal with a neck injury. Lethal was in the match where Marshall got hurt but it wasn’t his fault. Marshall hits him in the face. Why in the world is Jay Lethal vs. QT Marshall getting roughly 10x the build that the main event is getting?

From Final battle 2023 and from a previous review:

Ring Of Honor Women’s Title: Athena vs. Billie Starkz

Athena, the hometown star with a broken nose, is defending. Starkz knocks her fast into the corner and they fight out to the floor. Athena sends Starkz face first into the barricade a few times, with Starkz coming up bleeding. Back in and Athena keeps up the beating, including a neck crank as the blood continues to flow. Starkz gets sent to the floor as this has been much more of a brawl than a match so far.

Athena cuts off a comeback attempt but Starkz fights out of the Tree of Woe and suplexes her into the corner. They both mix kicks to the face before Starkz grabs a dragon suplex. Starkz spears her down and pulls off the mask, setting up some less than great looking forearms. The Swanton connects for two so Athena goes outside, with Starkz hitting a suicide dive into the barricade.

Athena gets in a shot of her own and loads up the announcers’ table but Starkz suplexes her down to the floor. A fireman’s carry is escaped and Starkz pulls her down by the hair. They fight onto the barricade again and it’s a reverse Sling Blade to send Starkz face first onto the floor. It’s time to really try something new so they head back inside for a top rope German superplex for two on Starkz. Back up and the ref gets bumped so Athena asks guest ring announcer (and head Minion) Lexi Nair to hand her the title.

Starkz dropkicks Athena into Nair and Starkz’s End gets two. Back up again and they fight to the apron, where Starkz hits an electric chair driver to knock Athena silly on the floor. The Swanton misses back inside and Athena punches her in the face for a double knockdown. Athena wins a slugout and hits Despicable Knee for two. They trade some rollups for two each until Athena ties her up in something like a modified Octopus hold for the tap to retain at 28:21.

Rating: B. I would bet that this had to be more of a brawl than a match due to the injury, as the style let Athena take a few long breaks in there. Other than that….my goodness who is left to take the title from Athena? This is the match that has been built up for months now and, again, Athena just retains. I’m not sure who in the world is supposed to take the title from her, but it might not be happening for a bit. It’s cool to see a milestone like the women headlining, but it would also be cool to see a heel lose a major title match around here.

Sidney Akeem vs. Serpentico

They fight over arm control to start and flip around a bit until Akeem is sent to the apron. Serpentico’s baseball slide misses and some spinning knees give Akeem two. Serpentico grabs a hurricanrana into a clothesline for two, followed by a double stomp for the same. Akeem sends him into the corner for a running clothesline into something like a Swerve Strickland House Call. Akeem’s top rope standing moonsault press gets two and they trade forearms. Back up and Akeem goes with a double backflip into a cutter for two more but Serpentico knocks him off the top. The Swanton finishes for Serpentico at 6:26.

Rating: C+. If you like flips and video game style matches, you’ll like this. There was very little here to be seen, as a lot of the stuff has been done to death around here. Neither of them has anything going on with the pay per view and this was little more than a way to extend this show, which feels like quite the bad idea on a long show before the biggest event of the year.

Respect is shown post match.

Billie Starkz/Athena vs. Missa Kate/Blair Onyx

Athena chops Starkz so she can start, with a German suplex dropping Kate. A kick to the head and hurricanrana out of the corner drop Onyx but Kate kicks Starkz in the face. Kate gets slammed onto Starkz for two before Athena comes in to throw Starkz at both of them. Starkz gets suplexed onto Onyx before Athena chokes her out for the win at 3:18.

Rating: C. There were some creative spots in there with Athena using Starkz as a weapon but my goodness it is hard for me to fathom that Starkz vs. Athena is the main event of Final Battle again. It feels ice cold compared to last year’s match and they are going to need a lot more than this to make me interested.

Post match Starkz steals the custom Athena title and rips her picture off. The fight is on with Athena beating her down.

Final Battle rundown.

Chris Jericho is in the back of a car and says that Matt Cardona is making a big mistake. We look at Jericho invading a GCW show and attacking Cardona. The summary of why this whole thing feels off: Jericho is wearing an AEW shirt rather than something from Ring Of Honor.

Video on Lee Moriarty.

Grizzled Young Veterans/Shane Taylor Promotions vs. Dark Order/Undisputed Kingdom

Gibson and Reynolds fight over a lockup to start and get nowhere. Reynolds takes him down and nips up, allowing Uno to come in. That means Moriarty comes in and takes over on the arm and a basement forearm connects for two. Back up and Uno sends Moriarty into a triple boot in the corner and it’s Bennett coming in for a Thesz press on Drake.

Taylor comes in for a chokeslam to Taven and the villains take over. Drake and Gibson take turns on Taven until he enziguris his way to freedom. Everything breaks down and it’s a parade of strikes until Taylor is low bridged to the floor. The Order and the Veterans brawl to the back, leaving Bennett to knock Taylor outside. Moriarty then rolls Bennett up for the pin (while grabbing the rope) at 10:12.

Rating: C+. Another fast paced match but again, I’m not sure how this is the best way to wrap up a show before the biggest pay per view Ring Of Honor offers. The Veterans are just kind of there and Moriarty is a singles champion. That doesn’t exactly make me interested in seeing what Moriarty (the only one on the actual pay per view card) is going to do. As usual with a match like this, it was a lot of people running around until someone got a (cheating) win, which isn’t going to let anyone really stand out.

Overall Rating: C. Again, if this is supposed to make me want to watch Final Battle, they really didn’t do a good job. As usual, there is a bunch of stuff from people who have nothing to do with the bigger stories, or really any story, and it makes things a lot less interesting. Ring Of Honor’s biggest problem is there is too much content without the interesting stars to back it up and that was on full display here. Not a bad show on its own, but for a show designed to draw interest in Final battle, it didn’t work so well.

Results
Lee Johnson b. Bishop Kaun – Jackknife rollup
Queen Aminata b. Lady Frost – Leg tie Octopus
Murder Machines b. Iron Savages – Chokeslam/powerbomb combination to Bronson
Serpentico b. Sidney Akeem – Swanton
Billie Starkz/Athena b. Missa Kate/Blair Onyx – Choke to Onyx
Grizzled Young Veterans/Shane Taylor Promotions b. Dark Order/Undisputed Kingdom – Rollup with rope to Bennett

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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:

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

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

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

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

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

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

Ring Of Honor
Date: October 17, 2024
Location: Spokane Arena, Spokane, Washington
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We’re in something of a new era around here as we are now seeing a classic match every week, which is a nice change of pace but also extends shows which are already running long. As usual there is very little going on around here when it comes to long form storytelling so it’s hard to guess what we’ll be seeing here. Let’s get to it.

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

In Memory Of Joe Koff, former company executive.

Opening sequence.

We run down the card.

We look at Mark Briscoe beating Chris Jericho at WrestleDream, but a ladder rematch is set for next week on Dynamite.

Briscoe promises to beat up Jericho anywhere he likes, even throwing in some Green Eggs And Hams style rhyming.

Spanish Announce Project vs. Ren Jones/Derek Dillinger

Angelico and Jones start things off with the former craning on a hammerlock. Jones reverses into one of his own but gets reversed just as fast. Back up and Jones works on the arm again, which is broken up again as well. Serpentico comes in to take Jones down, setting up a running hurricanrana out of the corner.

Jones hits a quick backbreaker so the fairly large Dillinger can come in for chops and a sidewalk slam for two. A jumping Downward Spiral gets Serpentico out of trouble and he avoids a moonsault to make things worse for Dillinger. It’s back to Angelico to pick things up, with an ankle lock making Jones tap at 7:19.

Rating: C. There was a lot of arm work in this to start and that wasn’t exactly making up for the fact that the Project took over seven minutes to beat these two. The Project hasn’t felt important around here for a long time and this didn’t do them any good, but I’m sure we’re seeing them get closer to the Tag Team Titles. Like every other team who ever wins a match.

Rachael Ellering wants a title but Harley Cameron interrupts and remembers where they are. Cameron took a long look in the mirror and realized she was very attractive. She wants a hug and Ellering seems confused by everything that just happened.

Yuka Sakazaki vs. Viva Van

Van actually takes her down to start and gives herself some applause, only for Sakazaki to grab a spinning rollup for two. Back up and Van slips off a springboard attempt, allowing Sakazaki to hit a running knee in the corner. A missile dropkick gets two on Van and a Blockbuster gets the same, with Van bridging up to escape. Van’s running spinwheel kick gets two and she grabs a rocking horse hold. Sakazaki is back with an arm trap spinning faceplant, setting up the Magic Girl Splash for the pin at 5:48.

Rating: C+. This was another Sakazki match and it’s about the same as everything you’ve sen from her before. In other words, she did her stuff well enough but odds are it’s going to be a few weeks before she’s back again, if not longer. It’s hard to get interested in her when she’s around so infrequently and when the only thing we hear about her is a list of titles she’s won in Japan, but that’s all she’s gotten for her time in AEW/ROH.

New TV Champion Brian Cage says this is long overdue and it is the push he needed to start the Age Of Cage.

Nick Wayne vs. Brian Cook

Wayne strikes away in the corner to start but Cook is back with some armdrags. Wayne takes him down and stomps on the arm before sending it hard into the corner. A dropkick cuts Cook off again but he makes a quick clothesline comeback. The bad arm goes into the corner again and Wayne’s World finishes at 4:56.

Rating: C-. This was a longer than necessary squash with Wayne running through him and working on the arm for the better part of five minutes. Wayne hasn’t done anything significant for a good while so he needed this kind of a win, though it could have been shorter for the same point. Now just have Wayne do something on AEW TV if he’s important enough for this kind of a match.

MxM Collection vs. Midnight Heat

Heat is Eddie Pearl and Ricky Gibson. Normally I wouldn’t list them but that would be the same Ricky who made an appearance on Smackdown a few weeks back as Kevin Owens’ short term partner. Mansoor works on Ricky’s arm to start as the fans certainly seem to know the latter. A dropkick lets Mansoor flip up to his feet and it’s off to Mason for a headbutt to Pearl. Mansoor walks into a hot shot though and a combination backbreaker drops him again. Mason comes back in and cleans house, including a sitout chokeslam to Ricky. The Centerfold finishes Pearl at 3:51.

Rating: C. The Collection is getting better in the ring but they’re still best known for what they do on the mic. You can tell Midnight Heat was doing well enough and you can tell they have a good bit of experience together. It made their time on offense look better and that boosted up the Collection’s win.

Jack Cartwheel vs. AR Fox

They trade flips to start and nip up for a staredown before Cartwheel is sent to the apron. A legsweep misses and Fox sends him outside, setting up the big dive. Back up and Cartwheel hits a kick, setting up a cartwheel flip dive. Fox is right back with a neckbreaker for two but Cartwheel’s crucifix driver gets the same. A jumping enziguri drops Cartwheel for two more, followed by a snap superplex (that looked cool). Fox drops a 450 for the pin at 6:43.

Rating: C+. If you like the rather choreographed looking style and two people who are incredibly athletic trading their flips and kicks, this was the perfect match. Fox has long since been a guy who is great for fun matches but he isn’t going anywhere. Cartwheel is as gimmicky as you can get and in this case, that’s perfectly fine.

Atlantis Jr. vs. Jon Cruz

Atlantis knees him down for an early two and a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker gets the same. Back up and Cruz hammers away with right hands, followed by a sliding chinlock for a bit of flare. Atlantis fights up, hits a rolling cutter, and nails a frog splash for the pin at 3:50.

Rating: C. I’ve been watching Atlantis Jr. for about six months now and I have no idea what the appeal is supposed to be. He’s perfectly fine but there is nothing about him that makes him stand out in any meaningful way. I’m sure it’s something about keeping the ties with CMLL but there has to be someone who is a bit more exciting.

Willie Mack vs. Komander

For a TV Title shot. Mack runs him over to start and adds a running kick to the head. A double nipple twist has Komander in more trouble and he loses a battle of the chops. Komander pops up with a running hurricanrana to send him outside, setting up the running dive. Back in and Mack knocks him down but misses the frog splash, allowing Komander to come back with Cielito Lindo for the pin at 6:32.

Rating: C. The match was perfectly fine, but this is a good example of why Ring Of Honor isn’t worth watching. Coming into this match, Mack has had one singles match in Ring Of Honor this year while Komander has been treated as nothing but a jobber in AEW. Why are these two having a match for a title shot? There are several people who have been racking up wins around here and aren’t getting title chances. That’s Ring Of Honor’s title situation in a nutshell and it’s not getting any better.

We look at Chris Jericho and Mark Briscoe’s promo exchange on Dynamite, setting up their ladder match next week.

From Final Battle 2018 (and from a previous review):

Tag Team Titles: Briscoes vs. Young Bucks vs. SCU

SCU (Scorpio Sky and Frankie Kazarian) are defending here. The Briscoes head outside and start throwing chairs inside, leaving the Bucks to slug it out with the champs. The Bucks get the better of it and start superkicking until Kazarian slingshots out into a hurricanrana on Mark, sending him into a spear on Jay. Everyone heads outside with Sky being put on a table but the Briscoes chair Matt down.

Jay hits a double stomp to put Sky through the table and the Briscoes take over with various metal shots. Kazarian is busted open and Mark puts the ladder around his neck to slam into people’s faces. Some superkicks break that up and Coleman thinks we might see some more later. Jay gets kicked to the floor and a wheelbarrow faceplant drops Sky. The Bucks hit a double dropkick on Sky before stopping for a Too Sweet.

The first ladder is set up but the champs take over on the Bucks, complete with some loud swearing from Sky. It’s too early for the titles though and the fight over getting to climb is on. Nick and Kazarian shove the ladder back and forth at each other until stereo superkicks put the champs down. The Briscoes come back in with some chairs to clean house though until Kazarian hits a chair shot to Jay’s back. Another shot takes out Kazarian’s ankle though and the Briscoes take over again.

Mark gets kicked out to the floor for a flip dive from Sky and it’s time to unleash the series of dives until Matt is suplexed through a table. The bloody Jay finds a staple gun but Kazarian breaks it up with a slingshot cutter through the table at ringside. And now, a sledgehammer from Matt has Jay begging him to swing. Since that’s a bad idea, we get another ladder instead.

After catapulting it into Sky’s face, Matt goes up but gets pulled back down into a backbreaker onto the open chair because the back injury is his thing. Nick hits the slingshot X Factor to send Jay into a chair but the also bloody Mark brings in another ladder. A springboard spear knocks Sky off the ladder so it’s time for the Meltzer Driver, with Mark diving off the ladder with a cutter for the save.

There’s a Jay Driller to Matt and everyone is down for a few seconds. Jay loads up yet another ladder and then bridges a second between the standing version and the corner. Kazarian is back in with a Styles Clash to drive Jay crotch first into a chair. That’s enough to get a hand on a belt with Nick going up for the save but being tossed WAY down and through a table on the floor. Jay climbs up as well and Mark pelts a chair up at Kazarian to knock him through another table, leaving Jay to pull down the titles for the win at 22:40.

Rating: A. Well that was great. This was the exact same idea that worked for the original TLC matches: take six guys and let them go completely insane with one spot after another until one team finally puts the others away after a big move. It was entertaining and nothing was going to follow it so this was the right call for the main event. Great stuff with the blood making it seem more intense, which is exactly what it should have been.

Lady Frost vs. Athena

Non-title Proving Ground match, meaning if Frost wins or lasts the ten minute time limit, she gets a future title shot and Lexi Nair is here with Athena. Frost grabs some armdrags to start and they trade dropkick attempts for a standoff. A headscissors drops Athena to the floor and Frost hits a flip dive off the apron. Nair uses a chain (the one she’s been tied to Athena with for protection from Abadon) to trip Frost down though and Athena takes over on the floor.

Back in and Athena chokes in the corner before slamming Frost head first onto the mat as things slow down. Frost scores with a kick to the head but a wheelbarrow slam plants her right back down. Back up and a flip into a Cannonball connects for Frost in the corner, setting up a cartwheel into something close to an Air Raid Crash for two. Frost’s super hurricanrana is countered into a superbomb though and a crossface makes frost tap at 8:32.

Rating: C+. When she’s been champion for this long, there is only so much interest to be had in anything she does. It seems like we’re on the way to the Billie Starkz getting a shot at Athena, likely at Final Battle, and that’s the match that has been cooking for a few months now. That leaves things like this and a showdown with Abadon (it is October after all) feeling less than interesting, but what are you expecting when Athena has been champion for the better part of ever?

Post match Athena loads up the ram into the title but Abadon’s music scares her off to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. That’s as quintessential Ring Of Honor as you can get these days: the women have the only thing close to a developed story, there’s a match where you remember how things used to be great, and a title shot is thrown out to the winner of a random match while a bunch of people not important enough to be involved in something in AEW have short matches. There’s nothing impressive here other than whatever Athena is doing and the classic match, because the rest is just filler until they get to a pay per view where they’ll bring in bigger names for a few weeks. Skip this show, as usual.

Results
Spanish Announce Project b. Ren Jones/Derek Dillinger – Ankle lock to Jones
Yuka Sakazaki b. Viva Van – Magic Girl Splash
Nick Wayne b. Brian Cook – Wayne’s World
MxM Collection b. Midnight Heat – Centerfold to Pearl
AR Fox b. Jack Cartwheel – 450
Atlantis Jr. b. Jon Cruz – Frog splash
Willie Mack b. Komander – Cielito Lindo

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