Rampage
Date: April 20, 2024
Location: Peoria Civic Center, Peoria, Illinois
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness

We’re still in Peoria for the second half of our back to back shows. This one is only half as long as Collision, but it is going to have its work cut out for it to be as good. It’s the last show before Dynasty and the card is set, so odds are this will follow the Rampage tradition of not adding much long term. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Jon Moxley is ready to defend the IWGP World Title against Powerhouse Hobbs and next week, he hopes Hobbs has found the heart he has been needing. Don’t hesitate for one second, because Moxley won’t either.

Rob Van Dam vs. Isiah Kassidy vs. Lee Johnson vs. Komander

Elimination rules and yes Van Dam is only here because of the date. Believe it or not the fans like Van Dam more than a pair of lower card stars and a tag wrestler. Kassidy gets double dropkicked to start as Van Dam is happy with sitting and watching the other guys fight. He finally comes in but gets dropkicked down by Kassidy, who misses his own Rolling Thunder.

Van Dam hits the real thing before Johnson sends Komander and Kassidy outside for the big flip dive. Back in and Kassidy rakes Johnson’s eyes, setting up a rollup with tights for the elimination at 3:53. We take a break and come back with Komander sending Kassidy outside. A big running forearm hits Van Dam in the corner and a springboard Swanton gets two on Kassidy.

Komander tries to walk the ropes but gets crotched by Kassidy, who kicks Van Dam down. Back up and Van Dam drops Kassidy with some kicks but Marq Quen pulls him outside. That’s fine with Komander, who hits Cielito Lindo to get rid of Kassidy at 9:41 total. We’re down to Komander vs. Van Dam and they trade rollups for two each. A northern lights suplex puts Komander down and the Five Star Frog Splash gives Van Dam the win at 12:35.

Rating: C+. For a match that was only there for the sake of a Rob Van Dam joke, this could have been worse. I’ll take the elimination rules over Van Dam scoring a quick rollup win as it looks like he accomplished a bit more. Also, does Komander just have a job for matches like this one? It’s about all he seems to do anymore.

Emi Sakura vs. Yuka Sakazaki

Sakura stomps away in the corner to start and gets two off a rollup. Sakazaki is back with a basement lariat and we hit an early STF. With that broken up, Sakazaki tries to run the ropes but seems to slip and fall out to the floor. Sakura follows and grabs some WOO Energy for some dancing, triggering a chase scene. Sakazaki catches her and grabs a running hurricanrana off the apron. We take a break and come back with Sakura hitting a backbreaker for two. Sakura goes up but takes too long mocking a drinking pose, allowing Sakazaki to grab a German suplex from the ropes for the pin at 9:32.

Rating: C+. Good enough match, but it’s quite the Rampage special: two women who have nothing going on around here having a match to fill in time. There is only so much you can get out of that as it’s a cold match in front of a crowd who might not be overly familiar with the two of them. The ending came a bit out of nowhere, but I wonder if Sakazaki was shaken up by that fall.

We get a Rampage Exclusive, with Angelo Parker saying he tried to fight but lost everything, including the love of his life. He doesn’t have anything left so he’s going to retir….and here is Ruby Soho to say he has something to fight for. That’s because she’s pregnant, with a kiss ensuing. How wholesome and sweet!

Kyle O’Reilly/Matt Menard/Rocky Romero vs. Undisputed Kingdom

O’Reilly wants Strong to start but has to settle for working on Bennett’s arm. We’ll switch that over to Taven, who gets taken down by Menard’s armdrag. Romero comes in but Bennett counters a hurricanrana, meaning Strong is willing to come in this time. A backbreaker puts Romero down and it’s back to Taven as we take a break.

Back with Romero avoiding a charge in the corner and grabbing a double hurricanrana, allowing the tag off to Menard. A Boston crab goes on but Taven makes a fast save. The moonsault gives Taven two but it’s back to O’Reilly to pick up the pace. House is cleaned until it’s off to Strong for the strike off. O’Reilly fires off kicks until a backbreaker cuts him off. Romero makes the save, leaving O’Reilly to clothesline Bennett and grab the cross armbreaker for the win at 12:10.

Rating: B-. Best match of the night so far and the fact that it was designed to help boost up a match on the pay per view helped. It would have been nice if the other four involved had something to do on the show but at least we got a tease of O’Reilly vs. Strong. That match could use some extra juice and this was better than nothing.

Post match O’Reilly says he’s coming for the title.

Dynasty rundown.

Overall Rating: C+. This was quite the Rampagey Rampage, as they more or less flipped an off switch after Collision and just coasted in through the next hour. That doesn’t make for the most entertaining hour but the action was good enough. Van Dam helped pick things up by making it feel special and the main event was solid. Somehow this is more than you get out of the normal Rampage, which says a lot about what this show has become.

Results
Rob Van Dam b. Isiah Kassidy, Lee Johnson and Komander last eliminating Komander
Yuka Sakazaki b. Emi Sakura – German suplex from the ropes
Kyle O’Reilly/Matt Menard/Rocky Romero b. Undisputed Kingdom – Cross armbreaker to Bennett

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

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Ring Of Honor
Date: April 18, 2024
Location: Truist Arena, Highland Heights, Kentucky
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

The show has been doing well enough in recent weeks and I could go for seeing more of what they have going on. What matters here is keeping things moving as the shows with all of the filler are by far the weakest. It also helps to have some star power around here and there is no way of knowing what you are going to be seeing. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Mark Briscoe isn’t scared of the House Of Black because he fears no man. Bring the violence.

Aaron Solo vs. Bryan Keith

Solo slaps him in the face to start so Keith sweeps the legs and pulls him down to hammer away. A rather delayed suplex puts Solo down so he rolls to the floor for a breather. Keith follows and gets sent into the steps as things slow down a bit. Some knees to the back keep Keith in trouble and Solo chokes away in the corner for a bit.

Keith shrugs it off and hits a running boot in the corner, setting up a t-bone suplex for two. A fireman’s carry backbreaker onto the knee gives Keith two but Solo is back with a t-bone of his own for two of his own. Back up and an enziguri staggers Keith, who knocks Solo out of the corner. Diamond Dust finishes for Keith at 7:14

Rating: C. Keith is someone who has been around AEW and ROH so much lately and a good chunk of his appearances have resulted in losses. Giving him a win here and there keeps him looking a bit stronger, even if it is over someone like Solo. I’m a sucker for Diamond Dust too so having Keith bust it out makes things that much better.

Lance Archer/Righteous vs. Jon Cruz/Savion Truitt/Damian Chambers

Vincent powers Chambers into the corner to start and drops him with a running forearm for two. Truitt comes in and gets to face Archer, who looks rather enthusiastic to wreck a human. Archer easily takes him into the corner for a hard chop and Dutch adds a t-bone suplex. A Side Effect from Vincent sets up a legdrop from Dutch but Truitt crawls over to bring in Cruz. Autumn Sunshine plants Cruz in a hurry and Truitt it Blackouted onto Cruz to give Archer the pin at 4:15.

Rating: C. Total and complete destruction and that’s all it needed to be. Archer and the Righteous wrecking people can be fun and that was the case again here, with the villains being little more than cannon fodder. They kept it fast too and that is what it needed to be given what was going on here.

Mark Sterling hypes up Tony Nese.

Sterling, with the Premiere Athletes, brags about how awesome his team really can be. They won at Supercard Of Honor and Sterling promises gold by the end of the year.

JD Drake vs. Lee Johnson

Drake powers him away to start and Johnson slows things down a bit. A slam puts Johnson down again so he takes Johnson down to slow him up a bit. Drake isn’t having that and comes back with Snake Eyes, only to miss a sitdown splash. Back up and Johnson sends him to the floor, setting up the big running flip dive. A high crossbody gives Johnson two and he avoids a Cannonball back inside. Johnson knocks him off the top and hits a frog splash for the pin at 9:24.

Rating: C+. Drake is a good example of a person who is talented and good at what he does but he’s been around so long around here that it’s hard to get interested in what he’s doing. You know what you’re going to get with him and watching Johnson take ten minutes to get there isn’t going to make for the most thrilling match. Technically fine, but not that thrilling.

Abadon vs. Allysin Kay

Abadon bites the arm to start but gets taken own with a clothesline. Kay hits a running splash in the corner but Abadon is back with a running faceplant. A high crossbody into the Black Dahlia finishes for Abadon at 2:17.

Taya Valkyrie says Johnny TV is off rehabbing his abs so stop asking her questions.

Iron Savages vs. Infantry

Jacked Jameson is here with the Savages. Boulder knocks Bravo into the corner to start but Bravo is back up with a dropkick. A double dropkick sends Boulder into the corner for the tag to Bronson, who is quickly knocked out to the floor. Jameson offers a distraction though and it’s Bronson taking over back inside. Boulder is sent into Bronson’s chest though and the hot tag brings Bravo back in to clean house. Everything breaks down and Jameson’s Savage Sauce is sent flying. Boot Camp finishes 4:55.

Rating: C+. Nice match and nothing that we haven’t seen from these teams over and over. It might be against different opponents, but the Infantry getting a win and going nowhere as a results isn’t a surprise. They got their one title shot and now they’re back to where they were before. Nothing to see here, as the Savages still aren’t that interesting.

Post match the Premiere Athletes come in for the beatdown but Mark Briscoe, Bryan Keith, Lee Johnson and Dalton Castle of all people make the save.

Taya Valkyrie/Leila Grey/Diamante vs. Leyla Hirsch/Kiera Hogan/Trish Adora

Taya powers Hogan into the corner to start but gets sent throat first into the middle rope. The running hip attack to the back gives Hogan two but Diamante comes in for a running dropkick in the corner. It’s off to Adora, who gets Russian legsweeped for two, allowing Taya to hit the running knees.

Adora’s kneeling German suplex allows the tag back to Hogan, who dropkicks Diamante. Grey gets dropkicked as well but Taya hits something like a Blue Thunder Bomb for two. Everything breaks down and Grey’s running Sling Blade gets two on Adora. Lariat Tubman hits Diamante and Hogan grabs Face The Music to pin Grey at 7:53.

Rating: C+. They went with the regular wrestling for a bit until it was all chaos with Hogan getting the win. In theory this would set things up for a future title shot or something close to it, but odds are it’s just a match that comes and goes. The action was nice enough though and a parade of finishers is always worth at least a look.

Griff Garrison and Cole Karter, with Maria Kanellis, have no interest in giving Serpentico’s mask back. This feud feels like it has been going on for months now, which is months too long.

Nick Comoroto vs. Beast Mortos

Mortos can’t shoulder him down to start so he goes after Comoroto’s arm to take over. Comoroto hits a hard clothesline and hammers away, setting up a splash for two. Mortos fights up and runs him over, setting up a corkscrew moonsault for the pin at 3:20.

Rating: C. Quick and to the point here as Mortos might be the next monster around Ring Of Honor. I’ve heard worse ideas, as getting some fresh blood is nice to see. That being said, this was just one match and he’s going to need something that makes him stand out or he’ll just be another name on a long list.

We look at Queen Aminata seemingly setting herself up as the next challenger to Athena.

Lady Frost vs. Marti Belle

Belle runs her over to start but Frost is back up with the rapid fire chops in the corner as commentary makes fire vs. ice comparisons. Belle gets in some boot choking but Frost elbows back up. A Cannonball in the corner hits Belle, who is back up with a hard forearm for two. Frost isn’t having that and kicks her in the head, setting up Frost Bite for the pin at 5:35.

Rating: C. I still think there is something to be done with Frost if she is given the chance and while this might not have been a big deal, it was better than a loss. If nothing else, Frost could be a nice first challenger for the Women’s TV Title, as Billie Starkz could use some fresh opponents. Belle is someone who has been around for a bit but this might be her high point around here.

Nick Comoroto is interrupted by Jacoby Watts, who offers to turn Comoroto’s career around.

Dark Order vs. Zak Patterson/Frank Milano

Milano headlocks Uno to start but is quickly pulled into an atomic drop. Silver comes in and poses before elbowing Patterson in the face. A charging Milano gets sent outside, allowing Patterson to come back with a dropkick. Patterson gutwrench suplexes Silver but charges into a boot in the corner. Silver’s suplex allows the tag back to Uno to clean house. The Stunner into the German suplex into Something Evil finishes Milano at 5:07.

Rating: C. Well at least it was short. Having Silver out there does take away a lot of the dullness that comes with Uno, as Silver is such a ball of energy. While I don’t think there is much of a use for the Dark Order in AEW, there are worse ways to go than having them pop the crowd in a match like this. Not much to see here, but Patterson and Milano weren’t completely destroyed.

Dynasty rundown.

Mark Briscoe vs. Griff Garrison

Non-title Proving Ground match, meaning if Garrison (with Cole Karter and Maria Kanellis) wins or survives the ten minute time limit, he gets a future title shot. Garrison tries a sunset flip but gets headlocked on the mat for his effort. The threat of Redneck Kung Fu has Garrison in the corner but he comes out with some uppercuts.

Briscoe isn’t having that and knocks him to the floor for a flip dive. The Bang Bang Elbow connects but Karter offers a distraction, allowing Garrison to get in a cheap shot. A big boot give Garrison two and a torture rack powerbomb is good for the same. Briscoe is back up and sends him outside for the slingshot dive, followed by a hard clothesline. The Jay Driller finishes Garrison at 5:41.

Rating: C+. It was nice to have the World Champion around here as the star power alone helped a bit. That being said, Briscoe started the show talking about his match at Dynasty rather than anything he was doing here. When he’s already fighting half of a low level tag team who is in a story that should have ended forever ago, it didn’t make for the most thrilling match.

Overall Rating: D+. Oh just no. This was every lame thing about Ring Of Honor rolled into one. It was about an hour and a half of matches that didn’t feel like they were going anywhere and had no stakes while not being anything special. It makes for one heck of a dull show and I can’t imagine sitting through this, Collision and Battle Of The Belts in the same night. Ring Of Honor can be a fun show but this was a nightmare to get through as there was just nothing worth seeing. They were on a nice little roll for a few weeks and then hit the way hard here in a huge disappointment.

Results
Bryan Keith b. Aaron Solo – Diamond Dust
Righteous/Lee Johnson b. Jon Cruz/Damian Chambers/Savion Truitt
Lee Johnson b. JD Drake – Frog splash
Abadon b. Allysin Kay – Black Dahlia
Infantry b. Iron Savages – Boot Camp to Bronson
Trish Adora/Leyla Hirsch/Kiera Hogan b. Leila Grey/Taya Valkyrie/Diamante – Face The Music to Grey
Beast Mortos b. Nick Comoroto – Corkscrew moonsault
Lady Frost b. Marti Belle – Frost Bite
Dark Order b. Zak Patterson/Frank Milano – Something Evil to Milano
Mark Briscoe b. Griff Garrison – Jay Driller

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

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Supercard Of Honor 2024
Date: April 5, 2024
Location: Liacouras Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

It’s time for another of these pay per views which have a limited connection to what has been going on with the regular show. The main event will see Eddie Kingston defending the World Title against Mark Briscoe, eleven years to the day of Briscoe’s brother Jay winning his first World Title. Let’s get to it.

Zero Hour: Premiere Athletes vs. Rhett Titus/Tony Deppen/Adam Priest

This is the Athletes’ return after a rather lengthy hiatus. Titus and Josh Woods start things off with Woods wrestling him to the mat rather quickly. That’s broken up as Titus fights into an armbar but Woods breaks that up even faster. Tony Nese comes in but gets his arm cranked on as well. It’s off to Deppen for a dropkick, only to have him get hammered down into the corner so the villains can take over.

Said taking over doesn’t last long as Deppen gets over for the tag to Priest to pick the pace back up. Ari Daivari is in for a reverse DDT and two on Priest, who also gets over for the tag almost immediately. Titus’ dropkick into a belly to belly suplex gets two as everything breaks down. Titus is left alone to roll Nese up for two until Woods is back in with a nasty German suplex. Priest gets muscled up over the top into a powerbomb from Woods, setting up stereo top rope fists from the other Athletes for the pin at 8:16.

Rating: C+. It’s hard to get behind the idea of the Athletes being back as they haven’t exactly been impressive during their time in Ring Of Honor. I can go with the idea of pushing someone fresh and this was a nice start, but they did what they could here against fairly low level competition. I’m not sure how far they can go, but at least ROH is trying something.

Zero Hour: Beast Mortos vs. Blake Christian

Mortos is better known as Black Taurus. Commentary even brings up WWE superfan Vladimir being here for the show, which always feels off when WWE isn’t involved. Christian takes the leg out a few times and snaps off an enziguri. Mortos’ headscissors is reversed for a standoff so Christian hits a springboard elbow. Mortos finally gets smart by running him over with straight power before grabbing a bearhug.

That’s broken up as well and Christian’s handstand into a headscissors out of the corner sends Mortos outside. The big running flip dive drops Mortos again and a top rope elbow gets two. Mortos isn’t having this and grabs a pop up Samoan drop for two of his own. Christian is right back with a Death Valley Driver, followed by a spinning tornado DDT onto the ramp for two. They both go up top, where Mortos grabs a super gorilla press into a pumphandle piledriver for the pin at 8:41.

Rating: B-. I got into this one, despite it being another bonus match with no story or even appearances from the people involved. Mortos is a good monster and Christian hung with him well enough, though it isn’t likely going to matter if the two of them are going to be gone again after the show. For now though, I’ll take a nice power vs. speed match, which is as classic of a story as you can get in wrestling.

Post match Komander comes out for a stare of respect at Mortos.

Zero Hour: Griff Garrison/Cole Karter vs. Spanish Announce Project

Maria Kanellis is here with Garrison and Karter, who have stolen Serpentico’s mask. The villains jump them to start but get cleared out rather quickly. Stereo dives to the floor connect but Maria distracts Serpentico with the mask. The ensuing cheap shot puts Serpentico down and they head inside, where Garrison puts on the mask. That earns him a rather violent…sunset flip, which is broken up by Karter.

Garrison rips at Serpentico’s mask (as in the one he’s wearing) but Serpentico grabs a hurricanrana, allowing the tag off to Angelico. A small package gives Angelico two as everything breaks down. Serpentico hits a double Downward Spiral so Maria gets in, only to be ejected. Angelico mocks her as she leaves but gets tripped down by Garrison. Back to ringside and Garrison steals Serpentico’s mask, allowing Karter to roll him up (with tights) for the pin at 8:31.

Rating: C. I could go a long time without seeing the stolen mask into a rollup pin finish. Also, after weeks of Angelico and Serpentico being upset over having the mask stolen, they just lose again. For the sake of protecting Garrison and Karter? As in the team who has been stuck in at best second gear since they came together about 68 years ago? I’m not sure why this wasn’t the big revenge moment as it’s just a showdown at one of the biggest shows of the year after more than a month of buildup.

Zero Hour: Momo Kohgo vs. Mariah May

May takes her into the corner for a clean break before taking things up against the ropes for some forearms to the back. Some running knees to the back give May two and she plants Kohgo for two more. Kohgo fights up and sends her to the corner, setting up a 619 for two of her own. May is right back with a missile dropkick but a German suplex is countered with a kick to the head. A DDT gives Kohgo two and they trade kicks to the head, allowing May to hit a Saito suplex. It’s Gonna Be May (running knee) finishes at 6:12.

Rating: C. There wasn’t much to see here as it was just a step above a squash. May never felt in danger here as Kohgo was little more than someone getting beaten up. That’s not something you expect from a Stardom wrestler but it did a nice job of showcasing May. She’ll be fine going forward, as the Toni Storm match is going to be a big deal sooner than later.

May decks her post match.

The opening video focuses on Ring Of Honor’s history in Philadelphia while looking at the show’s major matches.

For a bonus, here is Nigel McGuinness to join commentary.

TV Title: Kyle Fletcher vs. Lee Johnson

Fletcher is defending and Johnson is on the roll of his career. Since it’s a big show, Fletcher is dressed up as Kishin Liger (Jushin’s evil alter ego). They stare each other down for about a minute before going with the grappling, which goes nowhere. Johnson hits a dropkick, followed by some rather hard chops in the corner. That doesn’t work for Fletcher, who grabs a swing out Side Effect for two of his own to take over.

Fletcher goes up but gets knocked to the floor, meaning it’s a big flip dive to take him out. A charge sends Johnson over the barricade though and Fletcher adds his own running dive. Back in and Johnson gets in a shot of his own, setting up a standing shooting star press for two. The Blue Thunder Bomb gives Johnson two more but Fletcher catches him on top with a super Falcon Arrow.

Johnson goes up again but gets kicked down, allowing Fletcher to it a sitout Last Ride for another near fall. Some more kicks cut off Johnson’s comeback bid but they head to the apron, where the Big Shot Drop (more like a little shot given how much elevation he got) plants Fletcher hard.

The double dive back in lets them beat the count and they slug it out. Fletcher grabs a heck of a Tombstone for two and they go up top, where Johnson is back with a super Canadian Destroyer. A frog splash gives Johnson two but the Big Shot Drop is countered into a hard Lawn Dart. Fletcher takes him up and hits a twisting brainbuster onto the turnbuckle to retain at 19:52.

Rating: B-. And yes, we continue to keep the title on Fletcher because he just gets so much out of being champion. Johnson’s hot streak was enough to get him the title shot, but it feels like he’s just filling in for Ethan Page. It was a hard hitting opener, but my goodness I do not get the hype with Fletcher whatsoever.

We run down the rest of the card.

Video on Stardom.

Mei Seira/Maika/Mina Shirakawa vs. Tam Nakano/Saya Kamitani/AZM

Stardom showcase. AZM rolls Seira up for two to start as they’re moving rather quickly. Saya gets in a cheap shot from the apron to cut Seira down and it’s Nakano coming in to take over. Seira’s forearms don’t get here anywhere but a superkick and a running Blockbuster do a bit better.

Maika (Stardom World Champion) comes in to suplex Saya and Nakano but the latter’s running knee connects for two. It’s off to AZM for a Disarm-Her as everything breaks down, with AZM hitting a suplex on Maika. Mina comes in to go after Saya’s knee but the Figure Four is broken up. Saya’s northern lights suplex gets two but Mina is right back on the leg.

This time the Figure Four goes on until AZM makes the save and everything breaks down again. Nakano hits a huge dive to the floor to take out a bunch of people, leaving Mina to forearm Saya down. A snazzy rollup gives Mina two with Nakano and AZM making the save. Back up and a lifting reverse layout DDT gives Mina the pin on Saya at 14:26.

Rating: B. This was the match with some rather impressive action to pop the crowd over and over again and that’s not a bad thing. I’m not sure why it needed to be added over something that had been built up on ROH’s regular show but to be fair, this was probably better than anything else they could throw out there. The oddest thing: this was longer than any match on the full Stardom show from the weekend.

Post match here is Mariah May to celebrate with Mina, her Stardom stablemate, though Mina and Toni Storm don’t get along.

Tag Team Titles: Kingdom vs. Infantry

The Infantry is challenging after going to a time limit draw in a Proving Ground match. The champs jump them from behind to start, with Bravo being kicked to the floor as the bell rings. We settle down to Dean chopping Bennett down in the corner and dropping an elbow for two. Everyone but Taven goes to the ramp so Taven hits a running dive to take all of them out.

A table is loaded up at ringside before the Kingdom hits a Hail Mary to plant Dean on the ramp. Bravo gets taken into the wrong corner for a bunch of stomping but he uses the ropes to pull himself away. The diving tag brings Dean back in and a jawbreaker into a German suplex gets two. Taven is back in with Just The Tip to give Bennett two and the Proton Pack hits Dean for two more.

Everything breaks down and Boot Camp hits Taven, with Bennett having to make a save of his own. An assisted swinging Rock Bottom plants Bennett on the ramp and Bravo splashes Taven through the table. Back in and the top rope splash hits Bennett but there is no referee. There is however a Wardlow to run Dean over and give Bennett the retaining pin at 13:50.

Rating: B-. Yeah that isn’t the biggest surprise as this was set up earlier this week so it’s not like it was some big story. At the same time, there was the chance to have a nice moment with the Infantry winning but they went with the heels winning again off some cheating. Ring Of Honor has a real problem with not giving the fans many of those happy moments and that was the case again here, as the Undisputed Kingdom’s lame run continues.

We recap the Women’s TV Title Tournament.

Women’s TV Title: Queen Aminata vs. Billie Starkz

For the inaugural championship. Feeling out process to start with Starkz taking her down but not being able to hit a big kick. Instead Aminata sends her into the ropes for one heck of a kick to the face. A full nelson with the legs has Starkz in more trouble and Aminata sends her flying with a suplex. Starkz fights back up but gets caught with a fisherman’s neckbreaker for two.

Back up and Starkz manages a quick clothesline for a double knockdown and a needed breather. Aminata sends her throat first into the ropes but misses a running dropkick, allowing Starkz to send things to the floor. Starkz’ Swanton only hits apron and a German suplex on to the floor knocks Starkz silly.

Back in and a running Air Raid Crash gives Aminata two, meaning it’s time for doubt to set in. A running kick in the face hits Starkz again but she’s able to knock Aminata off the top. The Swanton hits raised knees though and it’s time for the referee to pause things to check on Starkz. Everything gets all serious and Starkz gets a neck brace applied. Aminata holds the ropes open….and gets German suplexed into a sleeper to make Starkz champion at 17:41.

Rating: B. Well the ending was certainly creative and I think I liked it, as it fits something that a follower of Athena’s “win at all costs” mentality would do. At the same time, Starkz is a much better choice for the inaugural champion as Aminata just caught some fire in recent weeks. Probably the best match of the night so far and the right call.

Top Flight is ready to face FTR on Collision.

Here is Bullet Club Gold, with commentary saying you never know who might show up in Ring Of Honor. Coleman: “Even the champions!” It’s time for an open challenge for the Six Man Tag Team Titles, so here are some challengers.

Six Man Tag Team Titles: Bullet Club Gold vs. Lance Archer/Alex Zayne/Minoru Suzuki

The Club is defending and I guess we ignore that Archer and the Righteous are a regular three man team but aren’t getting the shot here. White and Suzuki start things off with the fans thinking White’s chops were a bad idea. Suzuki’s sleeper sends White bailing out to the floor, with White promising to knock Suzuki out.

Austin comes in so Suzuki calls him “A** Boy” before no selling his chops. It’s off to Archer for a choke toss to Colten, who pokes Archer in the eye. That doesn’t do much good as it’s Zayne coming in and getting dropkicked down. It’s back to White to take over on Zayne, including the chinlock. Zayne fights up and rolls over to Archer so the house can quickly be cleaned.

Austin escapes the Blackout and manages to knock Archer down for a double breather. Suzuki and White get the double tags with a running kick to the chest getting two on White. The Blade Runner is countered into the sleeper but White breaks that up as well. Zayne comes in with a running hurricanrana out of the corner but White gives him a swinging Rock Bottom. 3:10 To Yuma hits Archer and the Blade Runner to Zayne retains the titles at 15:26.

Rating: C+. This was your “here is a random team to challenge for the titles because these titles still exist because reasons”. I’m aware that Archer/Zayne/Suzuki have enough of a connection in New Japan. Why that is enough to warrant a fifteen minute title shot on a show that is probably going to run over four and a half hours isn’t clear.

I really hope the Six Man Titles are unified with the Trios Titles sooner than later, as these matches just drag things doing, even when they include Suzuki and his “I make funny faces and don’t sell much but I’m a legend so it’s cool” status. I get that he’s a legend but he shows up infrequently and doesn’t really do much of note these days. Find someone else to do it instead.

Post match the champs brag about their win so here are Billy Gunn and the Acclaimed for the brawl. Anthony Bowens gets taken down with a Blade Runner and the Club bails.

We recap Dalton Castle vs. Johnny TV. Johnny and Taya Valkyrie have stolen everything from Castle, including the Boys (who got fired due to no showing events so they’re not here despite being the focal point of the story), so now it’s a Fight Without Honor.

Dalton Castle vs. Johnny TV

Fight Without Honor so anything goes and Taya Valkyrie is here with Johnny. Castle has the replacement Boys with him, which do help a little. Castle also seems back to normal, which should help him out a good bit here. The Boys leave but Castle is fine enough to try an early Bang A Rang, with TV bailing out to the floor. Taya shouts about the Boys to annoy Castle though, allowing Johnny to drop him onto the barricade.

Back in and Castle grabs a DDT before going after the arm. They go outside again where another distraction lets TV gt in a running knee to take over. Back in and the flipping neckbreaker gives TV two and he whips Castle over the corner for a crash to the floor. The table is set up but TV is smart enough to kick Castle in the head to keep him down. TV and Taya whip out his and hers kendo sticks to beat Castle down, both on the floor and back in the ring.

Castle fights up again and gets the stick, which has TV running away for cover. Back in and Castle snaps off some suplexes to send TV outside again. That leaves Castle to take the kendo stick and….slide it through his trunks before it falls onto the floor. Taya gets creative by spraying Castle with a leaf blower, allowing TV to powerbomb him through a table. TV wraps a chair around Castle’s head and hits him with the stick for two more, meaning it’s time to get frustrated.

Starship Pain takes way too long though and Castle knocks him outside again, meaning it’s time for the Boys to come out and get throw outside. The biggest one doesn’t quite hit TV so here is Jack Cartwheel as a Boy to take TV out. That’s not enough so here is actor/wrestler Paul Walter Hauser as a Boy to chill in the corner. That leaves TV to dive onto the pile at ringside, followed by Hauser laying out TV with a Sky High. The Boys kidnap Taya, leaving Hauser and Castle to pour out the thumbtacks. A Bang A Rang onto the tacks finishes TV at 22:06.

Rating: C+. This was a weird mixture of anger/violence and goofiness, which didn’t make for the best match. Castle didn’t really feel like he wanted to get revenge on TV and instead came off more like he was just having a half comedy match. The Cartwheel and Hauser stuff didn’t do much for me but I get why ROH would want to have someone as big as Hauser around. That being said, this was one of the matches I wanted to see on the show and it really didn’t work as well as it could have.

We recap Hikaru Shida challenging Athena for the Women’s Title. Shida is a multi-time AEW Women’s Champion and beat Athena (ten years ago) so now it’s time for a big showdown.

Women’s Title: Hikaru Shida vs. Athena

Athena is defending and bails to the floor to start as they hit the stall button early on. Back in and Shida cranks on the arm but Athena bails from the threat of the Katana. Athena comes back in and gets dropped with a string of clotheslines but is able to tie Shida’s leg up in the ropes. An ankle lock keeps Shida down, at least until she slips out and slugs away against the ropes. A suplex gives Shida two and she hits a dropkick, only to get booted out to the floor.

Shida hits a running knee against the barricade but is too banged up to stay after things. Back in and Shida misses a kick, allowing Athena to snap off a Saito suplex. Athena is already getting frustrated so she goes up, only to have the O Face blocked. With that not working, Athena gets smart by going back to the leg with another ankle lock. Shida bails out to the ramp, where she gets in a knee to block Athena’s dive.

Strong Zero on the ramp plants Athena and the top rope Meteor gives Shida two. The Dominator into the Codebreaker gives Athena two and she is looking rather stunned. Shida grabs a Falcon Arrow for one and she hurricanranas Athena to the floor, where she hangs on to powerbomb Shida hard. Back in and the O Face gives Athena two but Shida is right back up with the Katana for the same. Athena gets back up and ducks a knee, setting up a superkick. Another O Face retains the title at 22:35.

Rating: B. Yeah it’s a good match and no the result isn’t a surprise. Athena has held the title for so long now that these wins barely register anymore. Shida felt like the most “here’s an AEW star to come after the belt” challenger ever and that isn’t exactly inspiring. Good match, but Athena continuing to hold the title has not exactly been interesting for a long time.

Here’s what’s coming on various AEW shows.

We recap Eddie Kingston defending the Ring Of Honor World Title against Mark Briscoe. They’re friends and Eddie is giving Mark a shot because he deserves it. At the same time, Eddie just lost the Continental Crown and can’t handle losing again. This match is eleven years to the day that Mark’s brother Jay won his first World Title so it’s a mixture of honor and family.

Ring Of Honor World Title: Eddie Kingston vs. Mark Briscoe

Briscoe is challenging and Kingston backs him into the corner to start. They fight over wrist control to no avail until Kingston snaps off a backdrop driver. Briscoe fights up and hits a big boot, followed by a running boot to send Kingston outside. Kingston gets in his own shot out there and hits a dive off the apron to make it worse. The announcers’ table is broken up and Briscoe is busted open as he gets back inside, with Kingston pounding him down into the corner.

Kingston snaps off a suplex and hits a clothesline to drop Briscoe to the floor. The suicide dive is cut off though and Briscoe dropkicks him into the barricade. There’s the Cactus Elbow to hit Kingston but he knocks Briscoe down again to take back over. Things get more violent as Briscoe is tied in the Tree of Woe before falling out for two. Back up and Briscoe wins a chop off and grabs a fisherman’s buster for two of his own.

There’s the Blockbuster from the apron to the floor to put Kingston down again and a Death Valley Driver connects back inside. The Froggy Bow gives Briscoe another near fall and they trade suplexes before a double clothesline leaves them both down. They go to the apron again, where Kingston snaps off a t-bone suplex to the floor.

Briscoe has to dive back in to beat the count and they slug it out from their knees. Another chop off goes to Briscoe, who hits a running clothesline to take Kingston down. A discus forearm puts Kingston down and they trade spinning shots to the head. Briscoe goes old school with the Cutthroat Driver into the Jay Driller for the pin and the title at 24:13.

Rating: B. It was another good fight and Mark finally getting his big moment was nice to see, but the lack of animosity between them made this feel a bit flatter than it should have been. Briscoe should have won the title a long time ago but I’ll take it over him losing again like he did last year. This was the only thing that could have headlined and it was a special feeling, though Kingston’s collapse could make for some rocky moments going forward.

Friends, family and wrestlers celebrate with Briscoe to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This show might have been every Ring Of Honor problem rolled into one. As usual, the action itself was good to very good so the criticisms are not aimed at the wrestlers. Instead, we had a show that went on WAY longer than it needed to (just shy of four hours and forty minutes counting Zero Hour) with a staggering five matches going over fifteen minutes.

It’s a good example of a show that just needed to be trimmed WAY down, including cutting off say three Zero Hour matches and shortening some of the midcard stuff. It isn’t that the show was bad, but I was sick of watching it bay the end as it just kept going for hours. On top of that, it’s another big show with only so many noteworthy things happening, as the World Title and Women’s TV Titles changing hands aren’t likely to mean much in Ring Of Honor’s week to week status. Overall a pretty good show, but as usual, Ring Of Honor is REALLY in need of someone to say “and that’s enough”.

Results
Premiere Athletes b. Tony Deppen/Adam Priest/Rhett Titus – Double top rope fist drops to Priest
Beast Mortos b. Blake Christian – Pumphandle piledriver
Griff Garrison/Cole Karter b. Angelico/Serpentico – Rollup with tights to Serpentico
Mariah May b. Momo Kohgo – It’s Gonna Be May
Kyle Fletcher b. Lee Johnson – Super brainbuster onto the turnbuckle
Mei Seira/Maika/Mina Shirakawa b. Tam Nakano/Saya Kamitani/AZM – Lifting reverse layout DDT to Kamitani
Billie Starkz b. Queen Aminata – Sleeper
Bullet Club Gold b. Minoru Suzuki/Alex Zayne/Lance Archer – Blade Runner to Zayne
Dalton Castle b. Johnny TV – Bang A Rang onto thumbtacks
Athena b. Hikaru Shida – O Face
Mark Briscoe b. Eddie Kingston – Jay Driller

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

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Ring Of Honor
Date: April 4, 2024
Location: Budweiser Gardens, London, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Caprice Coleman, Ian Riccaboni

It is the go home show for Supercard Of Honor and the show’s card has has grown a bit since last time. Two matches (Dalton Castle vs. Johnny TV in a Fight Without Honor and Lee Johnson getting a TV Title shot against Kyle Fletcher were added off air, which is better than nothing. We might get more this week so let’s get to it.

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

We run down the card.

Infantry vs. Kingdom

Non-title Proving Ground match, meaning if the Infantry win or last the ten minute time limit, they receive a future title shot. Taven and Bennett fight over headlock control to start and it’s quickly off to Dean for an armdrag into an armbar. Bennett comes in and gets small packaged for no count so it’s time for an exchange of chops in the corner instead. A jumping elbow gives Dean two and everything breaks down. The Infantry dropkick them out to the floor before taking it back inside, where a Taven has to make the save off a sunset flip.

Bennett’s basement dropkick gets two on Dean, who enziguris his way to freedom. A sunset flip gives Dean two and he plants Taven with a DDT but the tag is broken up. Bennett hits a Death Valley Driver on the apron but Bennett misses Aurora Borealis. The tag brings in Bravo to clean house and he dives onto the champs. A Downward Spiral gets two on Bennett but Boot Camp is broken up. Taven’s Lionsault gets two and the time runs out at 10:00, making the first time that has EVER happened in a Proving Ground match.

Rating: C+. For the life of me I have no idea what took them this long to use a time limit draw. It doesn’t mean that the champs lost as much as they just hadn’t won yet. How is that supposed to make them look weak? They were even having a good match so they could have done a heck of a lot worse to set up the title match.

Post match the Infantry say they’ll have their title shot at Supercard Of Honor.

Kyle Fletcher is ready for Lee Johnson, who comes in to say Fletcher can say it to his face. Fletcher brings up their performances in Survival of the Fittest, which means Johnson can’t take the title from him. Johnson brags about his recent successes and says Fletcher can join the Shorty Show.

Anna Jay vs. Nikita

Anna takes her down with a headlock takeover and then hits a kick to the face for a bonus. Nikita sends her face first into the buckle a few times but Anna is back with a snap suplex. A Gory Bomb finishes for Anna at 2:19.

We recap Dalton Castle auditioning new Boys, with Johnny TV and Taya Valkyrie dressing up in costumes to mess with him.

Castle is ready to be a phoenix/peacock hybrid (Castle: “A peonix.”) and destroy Johnny TV for good.

Johnny TV is in Los Angeles and says he’ll do unimaginable things to Castle. He always fights without honor because honor sucks.

Nick Comoroto vs. Lee Johnson

Johnson strikes away to start and sends Comoroto over the top, only to have Comoroto skin the cat in quite the impressive feat. Back in and Comoroto runs him over with an elbow to the face as Jacoby Watts comes out to watch. The fans tell Comoroto to SHAVE HIS BODY but his jumping elbow for two on Johnson shuts them up a bit. A neck crank doesn’t work for Comoroto and a missed charge makes it worse. Johnson manages a suplex (the fans are impressed) but the Big Shot Drop is blocked. A superkick rocks Comoroto and a frog splash to the back gives Johnson the pin at 5:46.

Rating: C. They weren’t about to give Johnson a loss heading into probably the biggest match of his career and now it seems that they have something in mind for Comoroto with Watts. In theory Watts is going to focus Comoroto and with Comoroto’s looks, I’ve heard worse ideas. This was more about Johnson though and that’s what matters most.

Griff Garrison and Cole Karter aren’t sure where Maria is but Serpentico comes in to say where she is. He’ll tell them if they sign and date a document, which they sign without reading. Serpentico has no idea where she is but he’ll seem them tomorrow for their match at Zero Hour. Well that was efficient.

Nyla Rose vs. Alexia Nicole

Rose throws her into the corner, crushes her, and hits a kind of reverse AA (torture rack flipped into a cutter) for the pin at 1:18. The dominance continues.

Jacoby Watts says he can fix Nick Comoroto, who is in.

Evil Uno vs. London Lightning

Feeling out process to start until Uno is accused of grabbing the hair. With that off the table, Uno shoulders him down and stomps away in the corner, followed by a hard clothesline. For some reason Uno stops to look at the camera, allowing Lightning to gator roll him into a suplex.

A chase around the ring goes to Uno but Lightning shoulders him down for two. Lightning’s chops just wake Uno up, meaning we get a hip swivel. Uno tosses him across the ring a few times and a neckbreaker gets two. Lightning comes back with a spinebuster for two of his own but Uno boots him in the face. The Swanton sets up Something Evil for the pin at 8:08.

Rating: C. This was only mostly a squash as Lightning got in a few shots of his own. There is something to Lightning and he’s done well in his few appearances around here. Odds are he could get some more appearances going forward and I’ve heard worse ideas. Like making me watch Evil Uno that much more often.

Video on the Premiere Athletes, who are back on Zero Hour. This would be your “here’s a bonus match that has no story but content content content”.

It’s time for a contract signing for the Women’s Title match, with Lexi Nair and Billie Starkz in the ring. Starkz wonders if she is the new minion overlord if she wins the TV Title and Athena loses her title. That brings out Athena, who seems to be a bit on edge and yells at the two of them.

Nair is ordered to get Hikaru Shida out here so cue Shida, who brings out Queen Aminata to even things out. Aminata is ready to make history with Starkz, who is ready for their match too. Athena says let’s get this over with so she can go to the mall so they both sign. Shida says she’s in Athena’s head and the big brawls are on, with Shida driving Athena through the table. This served its purpose well enough.

We run down the Supercard Of Honor card.

We get a sitdown interview with Mark Briscoe and Eddie Kingston before their World Title match. Mark talks about how he has been here since the beginning of Ring Of Honor with his brother Jay. Eleven years ago to the day of Jay winning his first World Title, Mark has the chance to win it as well. Kingston talks about how he’s hurt from his recent loss but he’s not going to crawl into a bottle because Mark deserves better.

Kingston explains what Ring Of Honor means to him and how important it is to do it in Philadelphia. With all due respect, Kingston won’t lose and they’ll be in each other’s faces. All he wants is Jay clapping from Heaven, with Mark shaking his hands as it’s all respect. Well at least they were in the same room on this show. Not in the arena of course but I’ll take it.

Jack Cartwheel/Matt Sydal/Christopher Daniels vs. Action Andretti/Top Flight

Cartwheel and Darius start things off, with Cartwheel’s armdrag not doing much. That means Cartwheel has to settle for his four cartwheels so it’s off to Daniels for an STO. Commentary rattles off as many Fresh Prince references as they can as Darius gets in a shot, allowing the tag to Andretti. The chinlock doesn’t last long as Daniels is up with a Death Valley Driver for a needed breather.

Sydal comes in for an Air Raid Crash for a near fall but has to fight off both Martins. Everything breaks down and Cartwheel cartwheels away. A cartwheel powerslam gives Cartwheel two and Daniels is back in to plant Dante with a Downward Spiral. Andretti hits a big flip dive to take out Daniels and Sydal on the floor, leaving Cartwheel to get kicked in the face. A springboard 450 gives Andretti the pin on Cartwheel at 8:56.

Rating: C+. What a bizarre way to end the go home show for a pay per view. None of these people are in action at Supercard Of Honor and yet they’re closing out the show rather than a look at any of the three major title matches. Either way, this could set up Andretti and Top Flight at one of the six man titles, or just the six man titles if they are unified soon enough.

Overall Rating: C+. This was a rather quintessential go home show for Ring Of Honor, as it touched on the matches that have been well established while also adding in multiple matches almost out of nowhere. There had been some build towards them in the first place, but here they are, being announced a day before the show. Why that can’t be done sooner is beyond me, yet here we are anyway, complete with a very odd choice for a main event.

Results
The Infantry vs. The Kingdom went to a time limit draw
Anna Jay b. Nikita – Gory Bomb
Lee Johnson b. Nick Comoroto – Frog splash
Nyla Rose b. Alexia Nicole – Torture rack cutter
Evil Uno b. London Lightning – Something Evil
Top Flight/Action Andretti b. Christopher Daniels/Matt Sydal/Jack Cartwheel – Springboard 450 to Cartwheel

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

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AND

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Ring Of Honor
Date: March 28, 2024
Location: Canadian Tire Center, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We are eight days away from Supercard Of Honor but you might not know that based on the card that has been put together so far. There are currently three matches set for the show and while there is still time to have those added, it would be nice to see them actually announced. The main event this week will see Kyle Fletcher defending the TV Title against Black Christian so let’s get to it.

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

We run down the card.

Athena vs. Nikita

Non-title Proving Ground match, meaning if Nikita survives the ten minute time limit or wins, she gets a future title shot. Nikita starts fast with a Sling Blade and an X Factor gets an early one. A figure four necklock over the rope has Athena in more trouble but she pulls Nikita to the floor and hits a big forearm. That’s enough for Athena to get her vest off and send her into the barricade before coming inside. Quite the spinning faceplant puts Nikita down as we get a MAPLE SYRUP chant. Something like an abdominal stretch choke makes Nikita tap at 2:57. Nikita started fast but then it was the usual.

Post match the beatdown stays on but Hikaru Shida runs in for the save.

Lee Johnson wants the TV Title shot at Supercard Of Honor.

Cole Karter/Griff Garrison vs. Kaz Jordan/Victor Castella

Maria is here with Karter and Garrison, the latter of whom shoulders Jordan down to start. It’s off to Karter for a spinebuster before the villains just wreck both of them. With Jordan knocked to the floor, a running boot/flapjack combination finishes Castella at 2:02. I’m sure this will be the start of Karter and Garrison’s rise to the top.

Dalton Castle vs. Nick Comoroto

Castle has the substitute Boys (their rhythm is off) and looks more than a bit off. Comoroto powers him into the corner to start and Castle shouts for him to GET OFF ME. That’s exactly what Comoroto does so Castle double legs him down without much effort. An attempt at a toss to the floor lets Comoroto skin the cat back in for a heck of a clothesline. Castle isn’t having that and German suplexes him into the Bang A Rang for the pin at 2:44. They’re not wasting time this week.

Post match Taya Valkyrie comes out to say that yeah she and Johnny TV lost the Boys, but it’s not a big deal because they were BAD BOYS. Castle deserves what he is getting, including this, which includes a sneak attack from TV. Standing tall ensues.

Mark Briscoe talks about the Briscoes’ history in Philadelphia but then it was all taken away when Jay Briscoe dies. Mark tried to come back in the Continental Classic but came up short. That’s what Eddie Kingston did against Kazuchika Okada so it’s time for Mark to show that he is the real deal. It’s eleven years to the day that Jay won his first World Title so it’s time to man up. The fact that neither of the participants in the World Title match are actually here in person is as telling as you can get.

Colt Cabana/Brandon Cutler vs. Rex Lawless/Bryce Donovan

Lawless is jacked and should get a chance somewhere based on his look alone. Cutler chops at the rather large Lawless and hurts his own hand in the process. Lawless takes Cabana down with a test of strength but it’s off to Donovan instead. Cutler and Cabana do a dance into an elbow/splash sequence but Lawless is right back up.

Cutler is planted to set up a jumping elbow from Donovan, only to have Cutler dive over Donovan and bring Cabana back in. The double Bionic Elbow puts Lawless and Donovan down but Cutler tags himself in for an airplane spin. Lawless is sent outside and it’s a pumphandle slam/clothesline combination to finish Donovan at 5:08.

Rating: C. Of all the matches that get a bit of extended time so far on this show, it’s a comedy team who haven’t done anything in months. Cutler and Cabana are just there because they’re still employed by AEW and need something to do, which was fairly obvious in this case. Lawless was pretty well protected here and felt like a monster while Donovan was the guy who happened to be introduced with him.

Top Flight/Action Andretti vs. KPK

Andretti takes Abu down to start and gets two off a quick rollup. Darius comes in with an armdrag into an armbar before it’s off to Dante with a springboard stomp to the arm. Ahmed gets in a cheap shot from the apron to cut Andretti off though and the villains take over for the first time. It’s Abu coming back in with a slingshot hilo for two but Andretti slips out and dives over for the tag. Darius cleans house with a tornado DDT as everything breaks down. Darius and Andretti hit stereo dives, setting up Andretti’s split legged moonsault to pin Abu at 5:48.

Rating: C+. Well, that was certainly an established team against three guys who had very little to make them stand out. It’s the kind of match that should be on AEW’s version of Main Event but instead here it is instead on one of the last shows before a pay per view, which Andretti and Top Flight will be featured on I’m sure. And somehow, this was the best match of the show so far.

We look at how Queen Aminata and Billie Starkz made the finals of the Women’s TV Title tournament.

Diamante vs. Kiera Hogan

Diamante grabs a headlock to start and runs her over for a bonus. Back up and Hogan does the same to even things up a bit. They fight over wrist control for a change until Hogan gets her down with a hammerlock. That’s reversed into an armbar from Diamante but Hogan breaks out, with commentary saying it’s time to crank it up. Cranking ensues with…a wristlock, followed by a pop up legdrop for two on Diamante.

Hogan spends too long teasing the running hip attack so Diamante cuts it off and hits a running corner dropkick instead. Something like a seated abdominal stretch has Hogan in more trouble until she breaks out again. A missile dropkick puts Diamante down again and Hogan hits a sliding boot to the face for two. Diamante goes to the knee to no avail so Hogan scores with a superkick, followed by Face The Music for the pin at 8:34.

Rating: C+. They were teasing something interesting last week with the two of them being in a relationship but fighting anyway and then that was completely dropped here. It got some time and they were suggesting that the winner would be getting a Women’s TV Title shot, but it still feels like two women who were eliminated from the tournament having a match to fill time. That last part is the case with a bunch of things around here though so I shouldn’t be overly surprised.

Evil Uno vs. JD Drake

Yep. They spend the first minute plus in a pose off, with the Canadian Uno being rather popular. That includes a SEXY UNO chant so Drake grabs a wristlock and swivels his hips a bit. They trade running shoulders until Uno snaps off a running hurricanrana to the floor. Uno follows and they trade chops until Uno hits him in the face for a rather wise counter. A less than wise move sees Uno accidentally chopping the post, allowing Drake to get in a hard shot to the f..uh, mask.

Back in and Drake knees him down, setting up a Shining Wizard for two. Uno Hulks Up so Drake quickly forearms him to the floor. This time it’s Drake chopping the post by mistake to even things up a bit, leaving Uno to hit a dive. Back in and Uno hammers away in the corner until a DDT gets two. Uno swivels his hips a lot and takes off his vest, only to have Drake run him over. Drake misses a Vader Bomb and gets kicked in the face but still manages to avoid Uno’s Swanton. There’s a Cannonball to Uno, who is fine enough to avoid a moonsault and roll Drake up for the pin at 10:16.

Rating: C. This show is about 80 minutes long and ten minutes of it were used for a partial comedy match between two members of low level tag teams. We have a week to go before the pay per view and this was the best they could offer? For the life of me I do not get the thinking around here, as there was nothing the popular Uno could have done in the way of a two minute squash?

Supercard Of Honor rundown, with a six woman Stardom tag being added. This would be your annual “here are some people from Japan to fill in the card” match.

Hikaru Shida is ready for Athena.

TV Title: Blake Christian vs. Kyle Fletcher

Christian, with his one singles win (in a four way back on January 6) around here this year, is challenging. This puts him slightly behind Fletcher, whose last win in Ring Of Honor was on January 10. Fletcher easily takes him down to start and does it again with a shoulder. Back up and Christian knocks him into the corner and gets in a bit of taunting, followed by a rollup for two. Christian sends him outside and flips into a Nightmare on Helm Street to plant Fletcher again.

Back in and Fletcher hits him in the face to take over, meaning it’s time to walk around and taunt the crowd a bit. Christian’s chops in the corner are cut off with a running elbow but he’s fine enough to hit a spear on the apron. A top rope elbow gives Christian two but Fletcher sends him hard into the corner. Fletcher’s brainbuster gets two and a bit of frustration is setting in. Christian drapes him over the top and hits a top rope splash to the back for two. That’s enough for Fletcher, who grabs the piledriver to retain at 8:00.

Rating: C+. This right here is pretty much the perfect illustration of what I can’t stand about Tony Khan’s booking style. There was zero reason for this match to take place as there has been no interaction between the two of them and neither has won a match in Ring Of Honor in months. But none of that matters because one of the most worthless titles around is thrown onto it and that instantly is supposed to make it interesting.

They had a decent match, but it was built up as this important main event and it felt like any kind of story or interest was ignored for the sake of “title match”. That is the case FAR too often in AEW and/or ROH and it drives me nuts every time it happens. At least Lee Johnson, whose title match (assuming it happens), will be probably announced with less than a week before the pay per view, has won something to earn the shot.

Overall Rating: D+. Ever since it was announced, Supercard Of Honor has felt more like a chore than a show that Ring Of Honor wants to present. Between a total of four matches (one of which has nothing to do with Ring Of Honor) announced so far, absolutely nothing in regards to the Tag Team or Pure (yes I know the champ is hurt but maybe do something about the title if he can’t wrestle for two and a half months) Titles, the World Champion and #1 contender not even being able to make an in-arena appearance despite being at the tapings when these things are filmed and the big match announced so far being a tournament final for the Women’s midcard title, this show feels so unimportant.

Then, with two shows to go before Supercard, we get this mostly useless show which did next to nothing to build towards the pay per view. The longest match on the show was Evil Uno vs. JD Drake for the sake of popping the crowd a bit, which might not happen if they had done ANYTHING interesting here.

The wrestling was fine enough, but it was reaching a new level of “none of this matters” before asking for our money and even more time next week. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again here: if this is all of the effort that Tony Khan is going to put into Ring Of Honor, just drop the stupid thing already because it’s clear that he does not care about this place whatsoever.

Results
Athena b. Nikita – Abdominal stretch choke
Cole Karter/Griff Garrison b. Kaz Jordan/Victor Castella – Running boot/Flapjack combination to Jordan
Dalton Castle b. Nick Comoroto – Bang A Rang
Colt Cabana/Brandon Cutler b. Rex Lawless/Bryce Donovan – Pumphandle slam/clothesline combination to Donovan
Action Andretti/Top Flight b. KPK – Split legged moonsault to Abu
Kiera Hogan b. Diamante – Face The Music
Evil Uno b. JD Drake – Rollup
Kyle Fletcher b. Blake Christian – Piledriver

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: March 21, 2024
Location: Canadian Tire Center, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We have a little over two weeks to go before Supercard Of Honor and the card needs to start coming together. We already have a few matches set, but there are some which could go in a variety of ways. Ring Of Honor has a tendency to wait until the last minute to announce a lot of the show and that might be what they are doing again. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Card rundown.

Women’s TV Title Tournament Semifinals: Mercedes Martinez vs. Billie Starkz

Diamante is here with Martinez, who takes her down by the arm and grabs a front facelock. An exchange of suplexes goes to Martinez, who manages a very delayed vertical suplex for two. They go to the corner with Martinez hitting a hard stomp for two but Starkz comes back with a German suplex. Martinez is sent outside for a dive but Diamante pulls her away from the second dive, leaving Starkz to crash onto the floor (ouch).

That’s almost enough for a countout but Martinez settles for a top rope superplex instead. Starkz is able to reverse a suplex into a backbreaker for two but Martinez is back with a bunch of shots to the face. Starkz sends her to the floor instead and hits a quick dive, followed by a Swanton for two back inside. A Gory Special plants Martinez but Diamante offers a distraction, allowing Martinez to hit a Razor’s Edge Dominator for two of her own. They trade rollups until Starkz gets a cradle for the pin at 11:33.

Rating: B-. Starkz was pretty clearly a heavy favorite to make the finals from the beginning but they gave her a serious opponent in Martinez to get there. That’s a good way to go and what matters is that she has a chance to pick up her own gold. Martinez is someone who can lose a big match like this and not be hurt so it was a good choice all around.

Women’s TV Title Tournament Semifinals: Queen Aminata vs. Red Velvet

Aminata takes her to the mat to start but Velvet flips up and we get a hip shake off. The grappling exchange continues with a fight over arm control until Velvet snaps off a hurricanrana. Aminata is right back with a fall away slam and a snap suplex gets two. Back up and Velvet grabs a bulldog for two of her own, followed by a double stomp for the same. Aminata is right back with a snap German suplex and they head to the apron, where Velvet hits a spear. They head inside again for a strike off until Velvet hits a superkick, only to have Aminata hit a headbutt for the pin at 9:24.

Rating: C+. Not a bad match and it’s nice to see someone fresh in the title picture, though Aminata is still only so interesting. She’s just kind of there for the most part, but she has been figuring things out a bit in the ring as of late. Good stuff here and Aminata makes for a better choice in the finals than Velvet.

Kiera Hogan wants to fight Diamante again. If she doesn’t see her in the ring, she’ll see her at home (a rare reference to their real life relationship).

Lee Johnson vs. London Lightning

Lightning is the local favorite and rather popular. They go with the grappling to start and Lightning actually takes him down, only to be run over by Johnson. Back up and Lightning suplexes him a few times for two but Johnson strikes away at his head. A neckbreaker drops Lightning and some superkicks set up the Big Shot Drop to give Johnson the pin at 3:54.

Rating: C. This was the latest Johnson win and while he is still getting one victory after another, it should be time to get him to something more important. The TV Title is still out there as an option and that could be something we get sooner than later. Other than that, it was nice to see a crowd favorite getting some time and he did well in his shot here.

Johnny TV and Taya Valkyrie are teaching the Boys to do some new things but Dalton Castle comes in to find the Boys. TV: “We lost them! There was a bear!” Castle: “BEARS EAT BOYS!” The panicking Castle is told he still has Boys, but they’re just single use Boys. Lexi tells him to stop interrupting her interviews and leaves.

Rachael Ellering vs. Hikaru Shida

Hold on here as here is Athena to watch. Ellering powers her up against the ropes to start as Athena is looking nervous at ringside. A hard shoulder puts Shida down and Ellering lifts her up with a gutwrench suplex. Shida is back up and sends her into the corner for some right hands to the head, meaning it’s time to head outside. That lets Shida get creative by teasing sending Ellering into Athena, only to stop at the last second, causing Athena to fall backwards anyway.

Back in and Ellering can’t manage a suplex so Shida gives her one instead. A missile dropkick gives Shida two as Athena is looking rather nervous. Back up and Shida wins a strike off with a claw STO putting Ellering down. Ellering is right back up with a TKO as Athena is turning into a coach. Not that it works as Shida is back up with a brainbuster into the Katana for the pin at 7:29.

Rating: B-. It was nice to have Shida actually wrestle a match in Ring Of Honor before moving on to the title match at Supercard Of Honor. Shida is a very talented star but it isn’t like she has done anything in the last few months. It’s something fresh, but I’m not sure I can imagine her being the one to take the title from Athena.

Diamante accepts Kiera Hogan’s challenge.

Matt Sydal vs. TJ Crawford

Sydal starts fast and snaps off a hurricanrana before taking Crawford into the corner. That’s fine with Crawford, who sends him into the rope and kicks it into Sydal’s face to take over. A suplex slam gets two and we hit the chinlock to keep Sydal down. Sydal fights up and kicks him in the head, setting up a jumping knee. The top rope Meteora finishes Crawford at 5:15.

Rating: C. This was more or less an easy win for Sydal and I’m not sure why we needed to see that. Sydal doesn’t have anything going on at the moment and instead is just here getting a quick win. It wasn’t a bad match but Crawford didn’t exactly do anything great. Either way, an acceptable enough use of time but rather random.

Eddie Kingston is upset by his loss but his mentor Homicide called him up. Homicide wants to know where the old Kingston is, because that Kingston wouldn’t have lost. Kingston is going to bring his old self to beat Mark Briscoe because he can’t feel that pain again. I’m still not sure if Briscoe is going to acknowledge this match, as he is kind of busy trying to burn down the House Of Black.

Lexi Nair is happy for Billie Starkz but Athena is rather serious about having to face Hikaru Shida. Athena goes on a rant about how Shida beat her years ago and it will NOT happen again.

Anna Jay vs. Mina Shirakawa

The debuting Mina is from Stardom and likes to dance a lot. Jay ducks her to start and takes a quick bow so Mina shows her up to even the score. Mina takes her down for a kick to the back but Anna grabs a running Blockbuster. Back up and Mina starts in on the knee, followed by a dropkick for two.

Anna fights up and hits a Gory Bomb for two, meaning it’s time to slug it up from their knees. Mina goes back to the leg (Coleman: “That she has invested so much in!” We’re less than five minutes into the match and she didn’t work on it for a good while.), setting up a missile dropkick for two. A facebuster is loaded up but Anna escapes, only to get caught in a rollup to give Mina the pin at 5:56.

Rating: C+. Well that was random. This was a quick match between two people who don’t regularly wrestle here. I’m not sure why this was the main event for a show about two weeks before one of the biggest events of the year. For now, Shirakawa showed off some great charisma and I could go for having her around again, though it was only so good of a debut match.

Respect is shown to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. Another short show here with a focus on the women’s division. You had the two tournament matches and the Shida/Athena stuff, followed by the Eddie Kingston promo. Other than that, it was a trio of rather random matches, with only Johnson’s seeming like it fit. The show was just over an hour and they didn’t waste time, though I’m not sure how much good it did for Supercard Of Honor.

Results
Billie Starkz b. Mercedes Martinez – Rollup
Queen Aminata b. Red Velvet – Headbutt
Lee Johnson b. London Lightning – Big Shot Drop
Hikaru Shida b. Rachael Ellering – Katana
Matt Sydal b. TJ Crawford – Top rope Meteora
Mina Shirakawa b. Anna Jay – Rollup

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

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Ring Of Honor
Date: March 14, 2024
Location: Gas South Arena, Duluth, Georgia
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We are less than a month away from Supercard Of Honor and it should be time to announce some matches. That could make things all the more complicated as there isn’t much time left to build up the card. Then again ROH has a tendency to just throw things together and that will probably be the case again here. Let’s get to it.

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

We run down the card.

Women’s TV Title Tournament Quarterfinals: Diamante vs. Billie Starkz

They trade rollups to start until Diamante knocks her into the corner for a running dropkick. The beating heads outside with Starkz being knocked into the barricade. Starkz is right back with a hurricanrana off the steps to take over. Diamante drives some shoulders in the corner and we hit the neck crank. Starkz fights up but gets splashed for two, only to kick her back to the floor.

There’s the suicide dive, followed by two more to make it worse. Back in and a suplex onto the knee gives Starkz another near fall, followed by a faceplant to plant Diamante on her face. Diamante is back with a rolling Chaos Theory out of the corner for two, only to have Starkz blast her with a clothesline. They forearm it out (of course) until Diamante grabs a quick Stunner. A standing Sliced Bread #2 gives Diamante two but Starkz kicks her in the face. The Swanton gets two so Starkz goes for a half nelson crossface for the tap at 11:38.

Rating: B-. This got rolling near the end and I was digging what they were doing. The tournament matches have been made a good bit more exciting s there is SOMETHING for these people to fight over. The fact that there was a pretty obvious winner in Starkz but they had me wondering on some of those near falls is proof that they were doing something right. Good stuff here and one of Starkz’ better matches to date.

Lee Johnson vs. Aaron Solo

They trade arm control to start until Johnson grabs a headlock takeover. That’s broken up and Solo gives him a sarcastic handshake. Solo is sent outside and shakes the fans’ hands but runs into a dropkick back inside. Back up and Solo sends him hard into the ropes with Johnson seemingly hitting his throat on the top rope to cut him down fast. A suplex gives Solo two and we hit the chinlock.

Johnson fights up and sends him throat first into the ropes to even things up with a double knockdown. The Blue Thunder Bomb gives Johnson two but the Big Shot Drop is broken up. Solo kicks him down for two and a top rope double stomp gets the same. A butterfly powerbomb is countered into a hurricanrana from Johnson, who lawn darts Solo into the buckle. The Big Shot Drop finishes Solo at 10:22.

Rating: C+. Lee Johnson is being pushed, with six straight wins coming into this match. This was near his hometown of Atlanta. It took him ten minutes to beat a perennial jobber in Solo. There was little reason for this to be anywhere near as competitive if Johnson is supposed to be something important. In theory he is on the way to a title shot, but why should I believe he can beat someone important if it is this hard to beat Solo?

Robyn Renegade vs. Lady Frost vs. Kiera Hogan vs. Leyla Hirsch

Renegade gets triple teamed down to start, leaving the other three to fight in the ring. Frost sends Hirsch into the corner but gets legdropped by Hogan for two. Robyn comes back in but gets choked by Hirsch, only to have Hogan break it up with some kicks to the head. They all slug it out until Frost sends them into the corner for a pair of flipping Cannonballs. Hogan is back up with a running hip attack against the ropes to Renegade, followed by Face The Music for the pin at 5:26.

Rating: C. Hey look: another four way match where the winner is no further ahead than she was before the match. It also didn’t get a ton of time so they didn’t have the time to shine or get anything going. The action was fine enough, but these things coming and going every week have taken away almost all of their interest.

Griff Garrison and Cole Karter are ready for their big match but Maria Kanellis-Bennett comes in to blame their lack of Collision appearances on Garrison’s loss to Adam Copeland. Don’t disappoint her.

Athena vs. Aisha

Non-title Proving Ground match, meaning Aisha gets a title shot if she survives the ten minute time limit or wins. Athena starts fast with a toss suplex but Aisha kicks her into the corner. They head outside with Athena sending her into the barricade a few times. Aisha comes back with a spinebuster for two inside but Athena grabs the Codebreaker. Something like an abdominal stretch makes Aisha tap at 4:29.

Rating: C. This is what you get from an Athena Proving Ground match and there isn’t much to be gained from them. The good thing is they got through the match rather quickly and Aisha didn’t put up much of a fight. Athena needs a new challenger and we’ll probably get that sooner than later, but for now there isn’t much for her to do.

Post match Athena keeps up the beating and runs down the city of Atlanta. Cue Hikaru Shida to interrupt and we seem to have a challenger for Supercard of Honor. That would be another person from outside ROH getting the title shot because the division has been wrecked so badly by this Athena title reign that could have ended months ago without her losing a thing. But then again it’s not like this show matters in the slightest so why should I expect it to be well put together?

Top Flight/Action Andretti vs. Iron Savages

Before the match, we get a drink off between the Savage Sauce and Andretti’s water. Andretti wins and we’re ready to go, with Top Flight/Andretti hitting dives out to the floor. Back in and Dante kicks away at Bronson and everything breaks down again. Dante avoids going into a hairy chest and brings Darius back in to clean house.

Darius gets knocked down in the corner but Bronson spends too much time on pelvic thrusting and misses the moonsault. A kick to the face out of the corner allows the tag to Dante, meaning things pick up again. Everything breaks down and Jameson gets caught with a shooting star press followed by a frog splash to give Dante the pin at 6:01.

Rating: C+. Nice six man here with Top Flight and Andretti continuing to work well together. That being said, it’s another case where a team is floating around from win to win without getting much of a chance to go anywhere. Granted it might help if the Six Man Tag Team Titles had been defended here but that hasn’t happened on this show since September.

Lee Johnson is just getting started.

Workhorsemen vs. Jacoby Watts/Nick Comoroto

The Workhorsemen jump them from behind to start and Comoroto is knocked into the wrong corner. Comoroto slugs his way out of corner but Henry kicks him down for two. Everything breaks down and Drake suplexes Comoroto, setting up Henry’s top rope double stomp for the pin at 3:41.

Rating: C. This is a good example of a match that was fine but since it didn’t really add anything, it probably didn’t need to be on a show that is running over two hours. The Workhorsemen have been around here for months and don’t seem to be going anywhere, which again might have something to do with the champions almost never being around here (with their one title defense since winning the titles in December).

Post match Watts holds the ropes for Comoroto and they take their time leaving together.

Lance Archer vs. Darian Bengston

Jake Roberts bothers to show up for once. Archer misses a charge into the corner but pulls Bengston out of the air without much trouble. Another missed charge lets Bengston strike away but Archer plants him with a chokeslam. The Blackout finishes for Archer at 2:17.

We look at Dalton Castle losing the Boys to Johnny TV/Taya Valkyrie two weeks ago.

Taya Valkyrie is thinking about buying the Boys matching outfits but Dalton Castle comes in to say he can smell them. They shout at each other over the boys diets (sushi vs. tater tots) until security drags Castle away. This was amusing.

Women’s TV Title Tournament Quarterfinals: Mercedes Martinez vs. Abadon

Abadon slugs away to start and hits some running knees in the corner. Martinez is knocked outside and taken down again, only to come back with a big boot. Back in and some rolling butterfly suplexes have Abadon in trouble and a clothesline gives Martinez two. Abadon fights up and hits a running Codebreaker for two, only for Martinez to come back with a hard suplex.

The half crab has Abadon crawling over to the ropes for the break, followed by a quick cutter to send Martinez outside. Martinez is back up with a hard knee on the apron, setting up a hanging neckbreaker to the floor. Back in and Abadon grabs a quick DDT for two…but someone pops out from under the ring to deck Abadon. The fisherwoman’s buster gives Martinez the pin at 9:46.

Rating: C+. This wasn’t as good as the opener but it was still a nice showdown between two talented stars. Martinez going forward is a good choice as she is at least a minor threat to win the title but also someone who can be beaten to give someone a rub. I’m curious about the interference, as it’s at least a fresh ending for one of the tournament matches.

And it’s Diamante as the interfering scoundrel.

The final four:

Billie Starkz
Mercedes Martinez

Red Velvet
Queen Aminata

Slim J vs. Jack Cartwheel vs. AR Fox vs. Komander

Oh this is ROH in 2024 all right. J isn’t interested in a handshake and instead flips everyone off before heading to the floor for the bell. Fox takes him out with a dive, as he won’t stand for that kind of disrespect. That leaves Komander to miss a charge in the corner so Cartwheel hits a flipping elbow for two. J is back in to hit Fox low and another one cuts off Cartwheel, setting up a running cutter for two more. Fox flips J off the top and steps through into a cutter of his own for two of his own.

Komander has to make a save before kicking J down in the corner. Komander’s backbreaker puts Fox down before going to the top with Cartwheel. A middle rope Codebreaker on the apron rocks Cartwheel but J is there with a suicide dive to drop Komander. Back in and a top rope reverse DDT gives J two on Fox before Cartwheel and Komander go flipping up (and down) the ramp. Komander gets the better of things, setting up Cielito Lindo to finish J at 8:20.

Rating: B-. Remember the women’s version of this match earlier, where it was more or less the same kind of match that they’ve had for months and it is mainly just flashy yet meaningless? Same thing here, but with the men instead. It was entertaining enough, but when you’ve seen it over and over again for weeks, it’s hard to get interested again.

Eddie Kingston says Mark Briscoe was supposed to get a World Title shot last year. He can have it this year at Supercard Of Honor instead. There is no mention of anything but the ROH World Title on the line. Naturally this had to be a pre-tape because the champ isn’t going to be on the regular show.

Cole Karter/Griff Garrison vs. Trent Beretta/Orange Cassidy

Maria Kanellis Bennett is here with Karter and Garrison so Chuck Taylor is here to cancel her out. Karter misses an armdrag attempt to start so Cassidy puts his hands in the pockets to take over. Beretta comes in to hiptoss Garrison, setting up a quick double suplex for two. Cassidy sends Garrison face first into the buckle over and over but Karter is back in with a snap suplex.

Cassidy manages to kick his way to freedom though and there’s the hot tag to Beretta. A dive to the floor takes out Garrison but some double teaming puts Beretta in trouble for a change. Karter misses a 450 though and Beretta suplexes Garrison, allowing the real tag off to Cassidy. A bunch of kicks put the villains down and Garrison gets high crossbodied. The tornado DDT gets two on Karter but Maria offers a distraction, meaning it’s time for an exchange of kicks to the head. Maria gets up for another distraction and offers a hug, but Beretta would rather hug Chuck. The Orange Punch finishes Karter at 10:58.

Rating: B-. Nice match here, even if it is near impossible to care about Karter and Garrison no matter what they do. They have been up and down for months and still seem to be going nowhere as I still wonder why Maria is stuck with them. Cassidy and Beretta were the big guest stars and it makes perfect sense to close with them, even if they needed better opponents.

Post match the Spanish Announce Project comes in to get Serpentico’s mask back but manage to get beaten down. Cassidy and Beretta make the save and pose with the Project to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. And we’re back to the old format with two hours of stuff, much of which could have easily been dropped with absolutely nothing being lost. The four ways feel like little more than ways to get people on the show and when they feature a lot of the same people week in and week out, it’s rather hard to care. Other than that you had a bunch of the usual stuff, with the tournament matches at least feeling important. So yeah, it’s back to what makes ROH annoying after weeks of having it be what it should have been.

Results
Billie Starkz b. Diamante – Half nelson crossface
Lee Johnson b. Aaron Solo – Big Shot Drop
Kiera Hogan b. Robyn Renegade, Lady Frost and Leyla Hirsch – Face The Music to Renegade
Athena b. Aisha – Abdominal stretch
Top Flight/Action Andretti b. Iron Savages/Jacked Jameson – Frog splash to James
Workhorsemen b. Jacoby Watts/Nick Comoroto – Top rope double stomp to Comoroto
Lance Archer b. Darian Bengston – Blackout
Mercedes Martinez b. Abadon – Fisherwoman’s buster
Komander b. AR Fox, Slim J and Jack Cartwheel – Cielito Lindo to J
Orange Cassidy/Trent Beretta b. Griff Garrison/Cole Karter – Orange Punch to Karter

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: March 7, 2024
Location: Gas South Arena, Duluth, Georgia
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We’re less than a month away from Supercard Of Honor and that means it is probably time to start building up the card for the show. By that I mean announcing anything for it whatsoever, which hasn’t taken place yet. You can probably guess a few of the matches, but some of them need to be made official. Let’s get to it.

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

We run down the card.

Women’s TV Title Tournament Quarterfinals: Leyla Hirsch vs. Red Velvet

Hirsch takes her into the corner to start and gives Velvet a quick pat on the chest. An easy takedown lets Hirsch grab an armbar, with Velvet having to go to the ropes. Back up and Hirsch sends her flying with a throw but Velvet is right hand with some rights and lefts in the corner. Some boot choking in the corner has Hirsch in more trouble but she sends Velvet into the same corner to break that up.

A choke from the middle rope leaves Velvet flailing, only to come back with an Iconoclasm for two. Velvet grabs a short armscissors before hitting a nice looking superkick. It takes too long for Velvet to go up top though and a superplex brings her back down for two. They slug it out from their knees until an exchange of moonsaults goes to Hirsch. Velvet gets planted again and has to grab the rope for the break this time, only to come back with a sunset flip for the surprise pin at 9:52.

Rating: C+. They surprised me with the result as it seemed to be Hirsch’s spot in the semifinals to win. Velvet is someone that has managed to stick around in a fairly prominent role longer than I would have expected and good for her for getting this kind of a chance. I wouldn’t expect her to win the title, but then again I wouldn’t have expected her to make the semifinals either.

The Infantry do a bunch of posing and talk about taking people to Boot Camp.

Abadon vs. Judie Azul

They shake hands to start before Azul avoids a charge in the corner. Abadon strikes back as Mercedes Martinez is watching from the ramp. A running knee drops Azul and it’s the Black Dahlia to give Abadon the pin at 1:49.

The Spanish Announce Project comes up to Maria Kanellis-Bennett, whose team is off for the night. If the Project wins a match then they might get a fight with her team, but for now she can taunt Serpentico with his mask.

Lee Johnson vs. Jon Cruz

Cruz jumps him from behind to start but Johnson hits some running elbows. The reverse inverted DDT is escaped and Cruz bails out to the floor. Cruz breaks the count to annoy Johnson but a dropkick has Cruz in more trouble. A Stunner over the ropes slows Johnson down though and Cruz hammers away.

The rather cocky thumbs up annoys Johnson, who gets stomped down into the corner. Johnson fights up and gets two off a Blue Thunder Bomb, only to have Cruz get two off a clothesline. Cruz’s bridging belly to back suplex gets two but Johnson suplexes him into the corner. The reverse inverted DDT finishes for Johnson at 6:45.

Rating: C. Is it just me or has Ethan Page morphed into Lee Johnson when no one was looking? Page hasn’t been around for about a month now and Johnson has slipped right into his role of beating low level opponents. Maybe there is a reason for that, but Johnson is starting to build some momentum and that might mean a title match at Supercard Of Honor.

Nyla Rose vs. Airica Dimia

Rose kicks her down before the bell and hits some fast suplexes. A running splash in the corner sets up a toss into a running crossbody as Dimia is crushed again. Rose shrugs off a clothesline and hits one of her own, setting up the Beast Bomb for the pin at 1:48. Squash.

Jack Cartwheel/Gringo Loco vs. Spanish Announce Project vs. The Infantry vs. Workhorsemen

Angelico and Henry start things off with Henry (now with green hair) working on the arm. Serpentico comes in to work on Henry’s arm for a change but it’s the rather large Drake coming in for a chop. Cartwheel comes in to strike away but Serpentico sends him into the corner without much trouble. It’s off to Bravo for a change and a quick knockdown gets two on Serpentico.

Everything breaks down and the ring is cleared out until Drake plants Cartwheel for two. Henry kicks Cartwheel down so Drake can add a slingshot splash for two. Cartwheel manages to send the Workhorsemen into each other for a change though and it’s back to Loco for a standing moonsault. Henry grabs a super hurricanrana into a stomp from Drake as everything breaks down again.

Cartwheel and Loco take over, with the former hitting a standing corkscrew splash for two on Serpentico. Loco’s spinning moonsault sends Serpentico outside but Drake is back in with the spinning belly to belly. The Infantry’s double dives are broken up by the Project and Cartwheel hits the big tumbling dive. Back in and an ax kick into Boot Camp gives Dean the pin on Loco at 9:37.

Rating: C+. And there is your four way match of the week, which seems designed to get as many people on the card as possible. That works well enough but I have no reason to believe that this is going to be the big win that puts the Infantry over the hump. It was your usual action packed match with everyone getting their stuff in, but that’s about the extent of its value after all these weeks.

Post match Maria Kanellis-Bennett comes out to taunt the Project with Serpentico’s mask to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. I know it’s not going to last but man have I been liking these shows a lot more without all the worthless extra matches. This show felt so much more focused as it picked a select number of people to lock onto and that helped quite a bit. For months now I’ve thought there was a pretty good show in here if you cut out about half of what we got week to week and that has been on display in the last few weeks. It’ll probably change next week, but it’s fun while it’s lasting.

Results
Red Velvet b. Leylah Hirsch – Sunset flip
Abadon b. Judie Azul – Black Dahlia
Lee Johnson b. Jon Cruz – Reverse inverted DDT
Nyla Rose b. Airica Dimia – Beast Bomb
Infantry b. Workhorsemen, Jack Cartwheel/Gringo Loco and Spanish Announce Project – Boot Camp to Loco

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

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AND

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

Ring Of Honor
Date: February 29, 2024
Location: Great Southern Bank Arena, Springfield, Missouri
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We are just over a month away from Supercard Of Honor and this show has been a bit up and down in recent weeks. This has mainly been due to the Women’s TV Title tournament, which has made things feel a bit more important. That importance should continue this week with Dalton Castle finally getting his hands on Johnny TV. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

We run down some of the card.

Women’s TV Title Tournament Quarterfinals: Taya Valkyrie vs. Queen Aminata

Johnny TV is here with Valkyrie. Aminata grabs a headlock to start but Valkyrie reverses into one of her own. That’s reversed as well so Valkyrie powers her into the corner for the exchange of forearms. Aminata misses the hip attack though and gets knocked into Johnny’s arms, allowing Valkyrie to hit a dropkick through the ropes.

A suplex on the floor keeps Aminata in trouble and Valkyrie makes it worse with the STF. That’s escaped as well and Valkyrie spears her down for two. Aminata comes back with a suplex into the penalty kick, setting up the required hip attack in the corner. Valkyrie gets in a slam for two but walks into a headbutt for the pin at 8:55.

Rating: C+. So I guess Aminata is just kind of a thing now, as she went from losing all the time to being a serious contender for the title. I do like putting some fresh blood out there, but they took a rather odd way to get there. The match was fine enough and beating Valkyrie is the biggest win of Aminata’s career to date.

We look back at last week’s tournament matches.

Mike Sydal vs. Lee Johnson

Johnson takes him to the mat to start and switches into a hammerlock. A rollup gives Johnson two and Sydal needs a breather in the corner. Said breather seems to work as he takes Johnson down into a chinlock, followed by a Michinoku Driver for two. Johnson fights out of another chinlock and grabs a Blue Thunder Bomb for two of his own. The reverse inverted DDT finishes Sydal at 5:49.

Rating: C. Johnson is a good example of someone who is technically sound but not very interesting. There isn’t much about him that stands out and while his matches are fine, they come and go week after week. He doesn’t feel like a complete waste, but he needs something to make him stand out a lot more.

Komander vs. Blake Christian

They trade some rapid fire armdrags to start until Komander takes over with a dropkick. Komander kicks him off the apron and hits a Lionsault for two back inside. A missed charge hits post though and Christian knees him in the head as the arena is eerily silent. Christian knocks him outside for a big running flip dive and a snap suplex off the steps (that was cool) drops Komander again.

Back in and Christian’s top rope elbow to the back gets two and a backbreaker gets the same. Komander kicks his way out of the corner and snaps off a middle rope hurricanrana to the floor. The 450 hits Christian’s raised knees, but Christian’s top rope elbow hits Komander’s raised knees. Komander catapults him throat first into the rope but Christian bails to the floor. That means a moonsault to the floor and a shooting star press back inside gives Komander the pin at 9:57.

Rating: C+. They got the crowd into it by the end but this was another ice cold match that was out there for the sake of filling in time. Komander is on this show almost every week and it never feels like he’s getting anywhere. The fans were eventually into it but I felt sorry for the wrestlers when the place was so eerily silent to start.

Athena has called an emergency minion meeting with Lexi Nair and Billie Starkz coming to the stage. She’s sick of Lexi trying to interview everyone else so from now on, she’s staying by Athena’s side. Athena brags about beating Nyla Rose last week but she isn’t impressed with Starkz winning her first two TV Title tournament matches. The fans think she can do it, so Athena says win the title or else. Athena says this is the year of Minion #400237 ¾ and if you don’t like that, step up or step out. So unless Rose is coming back, Athena currently has no opponent for Supercard Of Honor. Maybe work on that?

Taiji Ishimori vs. Jacoby Watts

Watts picks up the pace to start but Ishimori knocks him down. Ishimori goes up but his high crossbody is blocked, allowing Watts to hit a hard clothesline for two. Not that it matters as Ishimori pulls him into a Border City Stretch for the tap at 2:57.

Queen Aminata is ready for the last two rounds of the tournament.

Johnny TV vs. Dalton Castle

For the Boys and Taya Valkyrie is here with TV. Castle can barely walk so the Iron Savages and Jacked Jameson come out to revive him with Savage Sauce. TV rolls around to start before Castle sends him outside. Back in and TV sends him outside, where the Boys fan him up. Castle gets back in but misses a charge to the floor, where TV grabs the Boys for a picture with Valkyrie. Back in again and Castle grabs a throw, followed by a DDT to put TV down.

They head outside again, this time with TV driving Castle into the barricade. Castle is dropped onto said barricade and TV neckbreakers him down back inside. The cravate doesn’t last long for TV so Castle is back up with some suplexes. TV slips off the shoulders though and hits his flipping neckbreaker for two more. This time Castle catches him on top for a…reverse Razor’s head face plant, which looked rather painful indeed. They both go up top where Castle knocks TV onto the Boys, allowing Valkyrie to shove Castle down. Starship Pain finishes for TV at 12:24.

Rating: B-. The stakes helped here but this really didn’t feel that dramatic. It was a nice back and forth match with the two of them working hard, though I’m not sure what this is going to leave for Castle. I’m sure the feud will continue, even if Castle is not quite the same without his Boys. What mattered here was it felt like a big match and that is how a main event should feel.

Valkyrie and TV literally drag the Boys up the ramp as they leave. Castle leaves as commentary sounds like they witnessed a murder to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This was one of the only times in the history of this show where it felt like the idea of “leave them wanting more”. The show was less than an hour and ten minutes long and nothing felt like it was a waste of time. It was a show built around keeping things moving and not overstaying its welcome. I’m well aware that this is likely a one off idea, but this was something close to a normal non-ROH show and my goodness it was nice for a change.

Results
Queen Aminata b. Taya Valkyrie – Headbutt
Lee Johnson b. Mike Sydal – Reverse inverted DDT
Komander b. Blake Christian – Shooting star press
Taiji Ishimori b. Jacoby Watts – Border City Stretch
Johnny TV b. Dalton Castle – Starship Pain

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

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Ring Of Honor
Date: February 22, 2024
Location: Dollar Loan Center, Henderson, Nevada
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We FINALLY have a pay per view announced as Supercard Of Honor is about six weeks away. Since they actually got around to saying something about it, now we can get ready for the show, which probably has more than a few matches all but set. As for tonight, Athena is defending the Women’s Title against Nyla Rose in a 2/3 falls tables match. Let’s get to it.

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

Here’s what’s coming on the show.

Women’s TV Title Tournament First Round: Taya Valkyrie vs. Sussy Love

Johnny TV is here with Taya, who easily takes her into the corner to start and hits a hard chop. Love’s Black Widow is quickly broken up but Taya misses a charge and falls out to the floor. That’s fine with Taya, who powerbombs her onto the apron and then chokes on the ropes back inside. The running knees in the corner give Taya two and we hit the chinlock. Love fights up and hits a crossbody into an enziguri before draping Taya over the middle rope. Some moonsault knees to the ribs give Sussy two but Taya spears her down. Shania Pain finishes for Taya at 7:18.

Rating: C. Another match that could have been trimmed as Taya shouldn’t be going back and forth with someone in their company debut. Taya goes forward and should be a threat to make a deep run in the tournament, especially with the stomp being an effective finisher. She’s also experienced and a name, so while I can’t imagine her winning, she should be in at least the final four or so.

We look back at last week’s first round tournament matches.

Lee Johnson vs. Sonico

Sonico kicks away a handshake to start and gets dropkicked into the corner. A headbutt to the ribs gives Sonico two and he chokes in the corner to keep Johnson down. That doesn’t last long as Johnson is back with some clotheslines and a Blue Thunder Bomb for two. Sonico gets in a shot of his own but walks into the reverse inverted DDT to give Johnson the pin at 5:08.

Rating: C. Johnson is another guy who has talent but needs something to do other than being stuck in the eternal chase for a title shot. It seemed to be another such match here, with Johnson beating another competent opponent. At some point Johnson needs to do something though and that doesn’t seem likely anytime soon.

Women’s TV Title Tournament First Round: Red Velvet vs. Sandra Moone

They fight over a lockup to start until Velvet takes her down with a headlock. Moone is back with a headlock takeover of her own before a belly to back suplex gets two. Velvet comes up and chokes away in the corner but Moone missile dropkicks her back down. A legsweep sets up a standing moonsault to give Velvet two and it’s time to start on the arm.

Back up and a Rey Mysterio sitout bulldog is countered into a Blue Thunder Bomb to give Moone two. Moone strikes away rather hard for two more but Velvet kicks her in the face. The Final Mix misses though and Moone fisherman’s busters her for two more. Moone goes up top but gets super victory rolled down, setting up the Final Mix to give Velvet the pin at 9:01.

Rating: B-. This worked for a pair of reasons, with the bigger one being that Velvet is a weak enough star that you could see her getting taken out as the first round upset. At the same time, Moone was giving her a heck of a fight here and it was something close to a breakout performance. Good stuff here and by far the best thing on the show so far.

Taya Valkyrie, with Johnny TV, is ready to win the title.

Brandon Cutler vs. Danhausen

Cutler has Colt Cabana with him and elbows Danhausen down to start. That earns him the threaten of a CURSE so Cabana and Cutler load up the cold spray. For some reason it only sprays themselves so Danhausen gets in a slam for two. They stumble around and bump into each other and the slugout is on. Danhausen hits a running forearm in the corner int a slingshot German suplex to drop Cutler again. Cabana’s distraction doesn’t work and Danhausen pours the teeth into Cutler’s mouth, setting up the pump kick for the pin at 4:52.

Rating: C+. It was fun, it was goofy, and they were done in less than five minutes. Danhausen is going to get a reaction just due to how ridiculous he is and they were leaning into that here. They didn’t overstay their welcome here and it was nice to have something this different for a change.

Video on Athena vs. Nyla Rose.

Women’s TV Title Tournament First Round: Abadon vs. Viva Van

Abadon wastes no time in sending her into the corner for some running knees. Choking (with screaming) on the ropes has Van in more trouble but she’s back with a running spinwheel kick for two. Van grabs a Tarantula into a bow and arrow before she runs Abadon over for two more. Abadon fights back and bites the arm, setting up a running knee and Black Dahlia for the pin at 5:49.

Rating: C. They kept this shorter and that helped a bit, as it’s another case where there is little doubt about the winner. Abadon was treated like a big deal upon showing up in Ring Of Honor and that seems to still be the case. You have to add some star power from the main roster and Abadon can do that well enough in a spot like this.

Anthony Henry vs. Ethan Page

JD Drake is here with Henry, who takes Page down to start and mocks him a bit. Back up and Page armdrags him down a few times before grabbing a quickly broken headlock. Page punches his way out of the corner but Henry is right back onto the arm to slow Page back down. That’s shrugged off again and Page hits some clotheslines into a powerslam for two, but the arm is banged up. Henry grabs a tornado DDT and cranks on the arm some more. They head to the apron, where Page clotheslines him back inside. The springboard cutter gives Henry the pin at 5:23.

Rating: C+. This should be the latest step towards Page getting a TV Title match, which has been in the making for a good while now. Then again at some pint he needs to actually win the title, which very well could happen at Supercard Of Honor. Henry is a good choice for an opponent here, as he’s established enough to be something of a threat, but also someone who can make Page look strong in defeat.

Queen Aminata is ready for her second round match against Taya Valkyrie, who is nowhere near what she used to be.

Women’s TV Title Tournament: Robyn Renegade vs. Billie Starkz

They fight over wrist control to start and neither get anywhere so it’s a staredown instead. Starkz kicks her in the head but gets small packaged for two for her efforts. Back up and Robyn hits a hard chop in the corner but misses another, allowing Starkz to strike away for a change. A fisherman’s suplex gives Robyn two and a Backstabber gets the same. The chinlock keeps Starkz down for a bit until she fights up and runs Robyn over.

Starkz’s comeback is cut off by an enziguri but she knocks Robyn outside. That means a heck of a suicide dive, followed by a second, but the third is pulled out of the air. Back in and Robyn grabs a diving sunset bomb out to the floor, leaving Starkz to dive back in and beat the count. Back in and Starkz grabs a quick half and half suplex before putting on a choke with a knee in the back to make Robyn tap at 9:48.

Rating: C+. Nice enough here as we wrap up the first round, though it’s still weird to see one of the Renegades on their own. Robyn is capable of doing quite a bit on her own but when you’re half of a tag team, it doesn’t exactly make her seem likely to pull it off here. It also doesn’t help that Starks has been a featured part of the division for a long time now and she wasn’t likely to lose in the first round.

Ethan Page wants the TV Title and says there is something in the air.

AR Fox vs. Matt Sydal vs. Komander vs. Exodus Prime

Fox gets pounded down in the corner to start until Komander and Sydal clear the ring. An exchange of rollups gives us a standoff but Fox is back in to take over on both of them. Fox hits a springboard moonsault on Komander before beating up Prime for a bonus. Sydal is back up to take over on Komander and Fox, including a standing corkscrew dive onto the latter.

Now it’s Prime getting up with a top rope elbow to Fox, who comes back with a twisting suplex for two on Prime. Everyone grabs a different hold on Prime until it’s broken up so Komander can take Sydal to the apron. Komander puts on a surfboard, but Fox dives over them to take Prime down. Sydal and Fox team up on Prime in the corner until Komander is back in to go up top.

Prime cuts that off and hits a reverse slam for two on Komander. Fox is back in with a split legged superplex to Prime, setting up a split legged moonsault. Sydal and Komander make the save because this needs to keep going. Prime rolls Komander up for two but he’s back with a tornado DDT to put Prime down. Cielito Lindo gives Komander the pin at 12:01.

Rating: B-. Yeah cool, can we move on to something that matters now? This was an extended version of the same four way stuff we regularly see around here: a bunch of flips and dives with one person managing to get a pin in the end. It isn’t likely to go anywhere and Komander is likely to be in another one of these things next time, because they keep happening for reasons of getting people on the show.

Billie Starkz promises to win the TV Title.

Women’s Title: Athena vs. Nyla Rose

Athena is defending in a 2/3 falls tables match. Rose runs her over to start and hits a Samoan drop to plant Athena early. The first table is set up on the floor and Rose apron bombs Athena, followed by a powerbomb through said table for the first fall at 1:17. Athena is back up and kicks Rose down before sliding another table inside. Rose is back up to with a chokeslam onto the apron and Athena is in big trouble.

Back in and a cannonball crushes Athena and the table is set up in the corner. Athena blocks a hiptoss so Rose his a crossbody to crush her again. They head outside again and Athena pulls out another table. Now it’s back to the apron for a slugout, followed by the O Face to send Rose through the ringside table to tie it up at 10:09 overall. Back in and Athena tries to powerbomb Rose through a table but her knee gives out instead. They fight up to the top in front of a table before Athena gets down and puts Rose in an electric chair. A big toss through the ringside table retains the title at 13:57.

Rating: C+. It was a good fight and I would hope that the ending leaves open for a rematch at the pay per view. Otherwise I have no idea who is next for Athena as there is no one ready to come after the title at the moment. The tables stipulation was unique enough and it keeps Rose somewhat save, though beating a challenger at her own stipulation doesn’t give the story the brightest future.

Overall Rating: C+. Well, the good run lasted a week, as this was the same overly long show with a bunch of matches that were just ok. It helps to have the tournament aspect, but having three of those matches featuring stars vs. enhancement talent and another being a star against a tag wrestler made me wonder why they didn’t just start with an eight person field. It wasn’t a bad show, but it was another that was hard to get through as there was very little to get excited about on the whole card.

Results
Taya Valkyrie b. Sussy Love – Shania Pain
Lee Johnson b. Sonico – Reverse inverted DDT
Red Velvet b. Sandra Moone – Final Mix
Danhausen b. Brandon Cutler – Pump kick
Abadon b. Viva Van – Black Dahlia
Ethan Page b. Anthony Henry – Springboard cutter
Billie Starkz b. Robyn Renegade – Half and half choke
Komander b. AR Fox, Exodus Prime and Matt Sydal – Cielito Lindo to Prime
Athena b. Nyla Rose 2-1

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.