Ring Of Honor
Date: August 24, 2023
Location: Bridgestone Arena, Nashville Tennessee/Rupp Arena, Lexington, Kentucky
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

Last week’s show was another long edition and that didn’t exactly make for the most thrilling edition. The biggest story seems to be Athena and Billie Starkz teaming up, or at least Starkz becoming Athena’s new minion. That likely ends in a Women’s Title match and we are probably well on the way there. Let’s get to it.

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

Dalton Castle/The Boys vs. Dark Order

Silver (with his back covered with those weird suction spots) and Castle start things off, meaning Castle gets to pose a bit. Hold on though as Silver wants a Boy so he gets to wrestle Brent down. A hot shot drops Brent again and it’s Reynolds coming in to take Brent into the corner. Uno chops away and Silver snaps off a German suplex to cut off a comeback bid.

A hard clothesline gives Reynolds two and we hit the chinlock. Brent fights up and elbows his way out of the corner, allowing the hot tag off to Castle. House is quickly cleaned, with Castle firing the Boys outside onto the villains. The falling splash gets two on Uno but Reynolds and Silver double team Castle down on the floor. The triple flipping slam finishes Brandon at 10:11.

Rating: C+. So Castle, who seems to be on the way to a TV Title shot, loses a match (not by getting pinned, but on the losing team) to the Dark Order. I’m not sure why Castle needed to be involved here, but it wouldn’t surprise me to see the Dark Order getting pushed towards a Six Man Tag Team Title shot. Then again I’m not sure why they’re regularly featured or why those titles continue to exist in the first place.

Athena thinks there is tension between Lexy Nair and Billie Starkz so she makes them shirts! Nair’s says Athena’s Bestie while Starkz’s says Minion 400,237 ¾. As for tonight, they’re fighting the Renegades.

Lady Frost vs. Kiera Hogan

They both miss kicks to the head to start until Frost knocks her out to the floor. Back in and Hogan hits a running elbow in the corner but gets kicked in the face for her efforts. Hogan shrugs it off and hits a fisherman’s neckbreaker for the pin at 2:51 (Coleman: “That was fast!”). Kind of a weird one here as Hogan just beat her out of nowhere.

Matt Sydal vs. Serpentico

Serpentico gets tripped down to start and a standing moonsault gives Sydal two. A hurricanrana out of the corner into a jumping Downward Spiral drops Sydal for two more Serpentico misses a top rope double stomp though and Sydal kicks him in the face. A fisherman’s buster gives Sydal two of his own, followed by the Lightning Spiral finishes Serpentico at 4:33.

Rating: C. They didn’t have time to do much here and Sydal is only so interesting most of the time in the first place. At the same time, Serpentico seems to be getting a bit better, but after so many losses, it’s a little hard to get invested in anything he’s doing. This was another match between two people without much going on and that’s not exactly interesting.

Stokely Hathaway wants an apology from Lexy Nair after he and Samoa Joe won last week. Nair doesn’t think anyone around here respects him and walks off. Hathaway: “D***. I was going to ask you to go to TGI Fridays. TK left his card on the table.” As usual, his one liners are great.

Video on CM Punk vs. Samoa Joe. After one of the matches they had and how much they put ROH on the map, they get about thirty seconds here.

Leila Grey vs. Leyla Hirsch

Hirsch kicks away the offer of a handshake before the bell and wrestles her down into a waistlock without much effort. Grey is back up with a shotgun dropkick but Hirsch takes her right back down. Cue Maria Kanellis-Bennett to watch as Hirsch grabs a waistlock. Grey fights up with some clotheslines and a Death Valley Driver, only to have Hirsch cross armbreaker her for the tap at 3:50.

Rating: C. The Maria stuff continues for Hirsch and as tends to be the case, that is taking its sweet time to get anywhere. I approve of Hirsch getting to do some more though, as it would make sense for her to go after the Women’s Title at some point. Other than that, it’s nice to see Grey getting to do something other than being Jade Cargill’s lackey, as she’s a bit better than that.

The Mogul Affiliates are ready to beat up Action Andretti/Darius Martin/Lee Moriarty because they’ve beaten them up so many times already. That’s not the best way to hype up a feud. Why Lexy Nair changed clothes in between interviews isn’t clear.

Blake Christian vs. Brandon Cutler

Colt Cabana is here with Cutler. A headlock doesn’t get Cutler very far as Christian snaps off a running hurricanrana to send him into the ropes. They head to the apron where Cutler can’t hit a piledriver. Instead Christian knocks him outside for the big flip dive. Back in and Cutler hits a Falcon Arrow, setting up a dancing elbow for two.

An airplane spin leaves them both dizzy (Ian thinks Bob Backlund did it better) so Christian hits a Death Valley Driver. Some kicks to the chest are countered into a pumphandle slam, followed by the Superman Pin for two (so not a pin). Christian is right back with a 619 into the springboard 450 for the pin at 7:05.

Rating: C+. Well at least Cutler didn’t win here. Christian is someone who has done well elsewhere and it wouldn’t be the worst idea to see him getting to do more around here. Then you have Cutler, and as usual with the non-Omega Elite members, they’re not exactly the most thrilling people, though at least he isn’t around very often.

Tony Nese and Mark Sterling still want to do group training, with Nese yelling at a production worker for drinking a soda.

Athena/Billie Starkz vs. Renegades

Apparently it’s Charlette rather than Charlotte. Since when? Anyway, the Renegades are sent outside to start and get taken down with dives. Athena tells Billie to throw Robin “into something” and like a good minion, Billie does just that. Back in and a double suplex sets up a swinging Boss Man Slam for two. Billie kicks Charlette away and brings in Athena for a kick to the head.

Everything breaks down and Athena Alabama Slams Billie onto Charlette. Athena’s rollup (with tights) gets two but Robin tosses her outside. Billie gets dropped on her head for two and a double chokeslam gets two on Athena. Back up and Athena drops Robin again, setting up the O Face. Billie tags herself in though and hits a Swanton for the pin at 8:40.

Rating: C+. It’s nice to have this match get some time as Athena and Billie are probably the best thing going on the show right now. They’re one of those wacky teams that are good for a chuckle while pretty clearly setting up for something bigger down the line. That’s all you can ask for here, save for maybe the Renegades losing a bit less often.

Post match Athena isn’t done and grabs Charlette, but Billie won’t get a cheap shot. Athena yells at Billie for disobeying.

Video on Adam Cole. Again, thirty seconds.

Here is Ryan Nemeth to say it’s his appreciation night so get him someone out here to fight. Even a World Champion!

Ryan Nemeth vs. Claudio Castagnoli

Non-title Proving Ground match, meaning if Nemeth wins or lasts the ten minute time limit, he gets a future title shot. Nemeth didn’t realize Castagnoli was here and tries to back out of it, earning himself the Swing. The uppercut finishes for Castagnoli at 1:05.

NJPW TV Title: Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Christopher Daniels

Daniels is challenging and the winner defends against Metalik next week. An early grapple exchange doesn’t last long and doesn’t go anywhere so Daniels grabs a headlock takeover. Sabre slips out and starts twisting the wrist to damage the grip. Daniels comes back with a cravate and a neck twist, as Sabre apparently has a bad neck (as commentary does its job by telling us about that).

Sabre is right back with a nasty arm crank before pulling him into a hammerlock. It’s quickly off to Daniels’ leg (as explained by commentary, who said Sabre will switch body parts if a wrestler doesn’t give up in 3-5 seconds of a hold) but he fights up with a Death Valley Driver.

Sabre takes him right back down by the arm and gets in a stomp before they slug it out. A quick Downward Spiral into the Koji Clutch has Sabre in more trouble. With that broken up, Sabre twists the arm again but Daniels slips out as well. The Angel’s Wings doesn’t work as the arm gives out, allowing Sabre to pull him into a double arm crank to retain at 9:35.

Rating: B-. This was a technical display with the neck vs. the arm working just fine, as Daniels got in a lot of damage but couldn’t hang with Sabre as a submission master. Daniels is still someone who is perfect as a challenger like this as he can still go and offers just enough of a threat to win something, but ultimately comes up short. Best match of the show here.

Respect is shown to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. As is usually the case when they go in this direction, the show being that much shorter (less than 90 minutes this week) makes all the difference in the world. They only had eight matches and a few of them were rather short. It makes the show so much easier to watch and I can absolutely appreciate the change. I know it’s not likely to last once the London trip is over and they can get back to the usual hour and forty minute tapings because quantity equals quality around here, but I’ll take what I can get for now.

As for the show itself, Athena and Billie Starkz are by far the most entertaining thing on the show, as Athena being a little goofy for a change is rather entertaining. Other than that, there isn’t much in the way of stories on this show, save for Maria Kanellis-Bennett coming out to stare at various wrestlers. The rest of the stories are often rather quickly put together and ended, but at least there is one nice thing going on and as usual, the wrestling was completely fine at worst. Much easier show to watch this week.

Results
Dark Order b. Dalton Castle/The Boys – Triple flipping slam to Brandon
Kiera Hogan b. Lady Frost – Fisherman’s neckbreaker
Matt Sydal b. Serpentico – Lightning Spiral
Leyla Hirsch b. Leila Grey – Cross armbreaker
Blake Christian b. Brandon Cutler – Springboard 450
Athena/Billie Starks b. Renegades – Swanton to Robin
Claudio Castagnoli b. Ryan Nemeth – Uppercut
Zack Sabre Jr. b. Christopher Daniels – Double arm crank

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.

So I reviewed this as usual last week and then forgot to publish it for some reason.  I’m not sure what happened but I’m sorry about that.

Ring Of Honor
Date: August 17, 2023
Location: Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, North Carolina
Commentators: Caprice Coleman, Ian Riccaboni

We continue our build towards…whenever the next big show is going to be around here, which might not be happening for a fairly good while. For now though, we have a new #1 contender to the TV Title as Shane Taylor won a tournament to earn the shot last week. As for this week, Joe is teaming up with Stokely Hathaway to face the Boys, as what feels like the build to Joe vs. Dalton Castle continues. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Gravity vs. Gringo Loco

Gravity starts fast with a springboard hurricanrana and an armdrag to frustrate Loco again. The frustration is alleviated by a right hand to the mask but Gravity snaps off a scoop powerslam but Loco shoves him off the top for a crash. The big flip dive takes Gravity down again, followed by a twisting senton for two back inside. Gravity sends him outside and runs up the corner, flips into a seat, and then flips forward into a hurricanrana (that was awesome).

Back in and Gravity hits a delayed top rope Vader Bomb for two but Loco’s standing Spanish Fly gets the same. Loco threatens to kill him but Gravity gets in a kick to the head. They both stand on top and flip over in….well they call it a torture rack superplex but it also looked like a flipping DDT. Either way it gives Loco two but Gravity catches him with a super Samoan drop. The top rope splash finishes for Gravity at 10:16.

Rating: B-. This was the “he lost last week so here’s a win to make sure the fans still care” match for Gravity and it worked well. Gravity is starting to put together better offense and is becoming a fun guy to watch so nice choice for an opening match. Loco is another person who has worked well in most of his appearances and he did well again here.

Silas Young vs. Josh Woods

Pure Rules and Mark Sterling is…not here with Woods for a change. Woods grabs a headlock to start before they both avoid an armdrag. Young’s handshake offer is turned down and Woods picks the ankle to take it to the mat. They fight over a wristlock until Young blocks a Chaos Theory attempt. The fight over the armbar doesn’t work for either of them so Woods snaps the arm over the rope. Back in and Woods sends the arm into the buckle before getting in some rather aggressive stomps. Young gets two off a sunset flip so Woods punches him in the face. The anarchist suplex into the corner finishes Young at 6:53.

Rating: C+. The match itself was fine enough but I’m getting tired of these Pure Rules matches. The rules don’t really change much about the match and they seem to just be there for the sake of setting up whoever gets to lose to Katsuyori Shibata next. Young knowing Woods so well made for a nice story, but it’s still just the Pure Rules division and that’s not the most interesting stuff. Oh and why are these the only matches that get on-screen clocks?

Maria Kanellis-Bennett talks about everything she has given to wrestling but she’s still here. Now she wants an army to protect the Kingdom. Leyla Hirsch is mentioned but comes in to rant about how she doesn’t like to be scouted. Maria has granted her request for more competition with a match against Rachael Ellering.

Athena vs. Brittany J

Non-title Proving Ground match, meaning if J can survive the ten minute time limit or win, she gets a future title shot. Athena poses to start and gets rolled up for two. Brittany sends her outside but Athena grabs a leg for a pull to the floor. For some reason Athena yells at Riccaboni before hitting a pop up powerbomb inside. The right hand finishes Brittany at 1:50. Of all of the Athena wins in Proving Ground matches, this was the most recent.

Post match the Renegades jump Athena but Billie Starkz runs in for the save.

Samoa Joe/Stokely Hathaway vs. The Boys

During the entrances, Stokely talks about how he’ll be right here on the apron if Joe needs him. The Boys jump Joe to start but he knocks them both down without much effort. Stokely comes in and gets punched in the face as the Boys take over without much effort. Back up and Stokely manages to get over to Joe, who quickly cleans house. The Muscle Buster is loaded up but instead Joe lets Stokely come off the top with an ax handle. Instead of connecting though, Joe turns away (taking Brandon with him) and lets Stokely crash in a funny spot. The Koquina Clutch finishes for Joe at 3:53.

Rating: C. Other than the step aside crash, there wasn’t much to see here. I’m assuming this is going to be setting up Joe vs. Dalton Castle, but beating up the Boys with the help (or close to it) from Stokely isn’t exactly a hot angle. At least they kept things moving here and Stokely was funny as usual.

Billie Starkz doesn’t know what is going on with Athena but the Renegades come in for a staredown.

Matt Sydal/Christopher Daniels vs. Gates of Agony

This is from a Dynamite taping. Daniels grabs a headlock on Toa to start before getting run over with a shoulder. Kaun comes in and gets taken down with a drop toehold. It’s off to Sydal for a kick to the head before Daniels comes back in. As was the case earlier, Daniels gets beaten down, including a running splash in the corner. The chinlock doesn’t last long so Kaun switches to a side slam for two instead.

Daniels has to bite his way out of a bearhug and there’s the STO, allowing the tag off to Sydal. Everything breaks down and Sydal gets caught with the stereo clotheslines. Daniels makes the save, allowing Sydal to dive over for the tag to bring Daniels back in. Angel’s Wings hits Kaun but Toa makes the save this time. Back up and Kaun hits a fireman’s carry gutbuster to finish Daniels at 10;12.

Rating: B-. They managed to take two less that interesting teams and get an engaging match out of them. That’s hard to do and it’s nice to see the Gates starting to actually win matches against some decent competition. Daniels and Sydal aren’t exactly on the all time list of great ROH tag teams, but they’re former champions and work well enough so this could have been worse.

Dani Mo vs. Madison Rayne

Still at Dynamite and Rayne is the hometown girl. Mo elbows her way out of a hammerlock to start before Rayne charges into a boot in the corner. A cartwheel sets up a kick to Rayne’s face but she’s back with a dropkick. Rayne hits a neckbreaker into a northern lights suplex for two, followed by CrossRayne for the pin at 3:22.

Rating: C. It’s nice to have Rayne back as she is someone with enough of a reputation to be able to put some people over. She’s not likely to tear up the mat in a classic most of the time but she’s a good enough steady hand. Mo was unique enough to get another look and I could go with having her back somewhere in the future.

Dark Order vs. Corey Calhoun/Isaiah Broner/Lord Crewe

Uno takes Broner into the corner for the rapid fire stomps to start before Reynolds comes in to hammer away. Silver is in for the kicks to the chest and a near fall, followed by Reynolds’ knee drop. Cue Stu Grayson to watch, allowing Calhoun to come in of the tag. Not that it matters as the Darker Realm finishes Calhoun at 3:49.

Rating: C. Yeah they’re still the Dark Order, meaning it’s John Silver and an ok Alex Reynolds plus the mostly useless Evil Uno. I still don’t get what is supposed to be so special about these guys but they aren’t likely to go away anytime soon. At least they kept it short here and didn’t bother doing anything too important here, but that’s probably coming.

Claudio Castagnoli says he’s always watching, even if he isn’t on the show. He won the title over a year ago and cared, but then he lost it to Chris Jericho, who didn’t care. Now he’s a two time champion and he won’t let go of something he has cared about for so many years. His job is to keep people like Eddie Kingston, Mark Briscoe and Pac away from the title. He will step in the ring with anyone and this is still just a job. Come be better than him. Not much from Castagnoli here, but then again he didn’t have anything or anyone to talk about.

Cole Karter vs. Griff Garrison

Back in North Carolina as Garrison gets driven into the corner to start. A big boot staggers Karter though and a Falcon Arrow gets two on Karter. Back up and a dropkick hits Garrison and the chinlock goes on. Karter snaps off some suplexes but Garrison scores with a discus forearm to knock him silly. A rake to the eyes gets Karter out of trouble though and the belly to back spinning faceplant finishes Garrison at 4:29.

Rating: C. Remember all those other matches where Karter was just a guy in tights not doing anything that made him stand out in the slightest? This was another one of those, but for some reason he is being presented with Maria Kanellis-Bennett. I guess this is trying to find a way to use him, but he’s still nothing special in the slightest.

Post match Maria Kanellis-Bennett comes out to leave with Karter.

Charlotte Renegade vs. Billie Starkz

Robyn Renegade is here with Charlotte, who takes Billie down and hammers away to start. Starkz is sent outside for a beating from Robyn, followed by a face pull and choking back inside. Charlotte grabs a suplex but Starkz reverses into a brainbuster onto the knee. Robyn offers a distraction though and Starkz misses a Swanton, allowing Charlotte to hit a Samoan driver for two. Back up and Starkz grabs an arm trap faceplant (like a Neutralizer) for the pin at 3:40.

Rating: C. Well they’re trying with Starkz, who is indeed someone new. It seems that they’re setting up something for her against Athena and I’ll take that over one more random match after another. That being said, I could also go with less of the Renegades losing, as they feel like a pair who could be something, either together or on their own.

Post match the beatdown is on with Athena making the save. Athena won’t shake her hand but does say “come on minion, let’s go”, with Starkz following her out.

Tony Nese, with Ari Daivari, is annoyed at his group training being interrupted every week.

Workhorsemen/Lee Moriarty vs. Action Andretti/Darius Martin/Lee Johnson

Well this is a 2023 ROH match if I’ve ever seen one. Moriarty and Johnson start things off with Moriarty cranking on the wrist but getting armdragged into an armbar. Andretti comes in and helps send the villains outside as the fast start continues. Back in and we settle down a bit with Moriarty bringing Drake in for a swinging Boss Man Slam on Johnson.

Kicks and chops keep Johnson in trouble but he rolls over for the tag off to Andretti to clean house. Everything breaks down and Andretti is tossed into Drake’s sitout powerbomb. Andretti is back up with a springboard spinning kick to Drake’s face. Henry tries an O’Connor roll but Andretti rolls through and sits down on it for the pin at 7:05.

Rating: C+. Commentary talked about how the winner of this might be in line for a Six Man Tag Team Title shot and I’m not sure why I should believe that. The tradition for determining title shots seems to be throwing random opponents at the Embassy, even if they have never wrestled here before. At least they did pick up the pace after a string of dull matches, but I’ve seen Andretti and Martin team together with a variety of partners more than once now and it’s not like this was anything new.

Athena brings in Billie Starkz to say how proud she is but Starkz wants to face the Renegade Twins next week. This has been another story that could have been stretched out over about a month but instead they blitzed through it in about an hour.

Lady Frost vs. Trish Adora

Feeling out process to start until Frost misses a charge in the corner and gets kicked in the head. They go outside with Frost doing a handstand on the apron and then kicking Adora down. Back in and Adora kicks her into a crossbody but the Lariat Tubman is countered into a rollup for two. Frost hits her own kick to the head and goes up top for a corkscrew moonsault (Frostbite) for a pretty big upset at 4:06.

Rating: C+. Ok they got me with the surprise there, as I wouldn’t have bet on Frost winning. Much like Starkz, it’s cool to see someone fresh getting a chance, though unfortunately it’s at the expense of Adora. I’ll take what I can get with the unexpected ending though, as those can be nice every so often.

Kiera Hogan wants Lady Frost. This was less than thirty seconds after the match was over, because again, everything must go as fast as possible.

Rachael Ellering vs. Leyla Hirsch

Hirsch kicks a hand away rather than shake before taking Ellering down. Back up and Ellering chops away in the corner, only to get taken down by the arm. Ellering has to block a Fujiwara armbar and powers out of another armbar. A spinning uppercut drops Hirsch but she gets on Ellering’s back for the third armbar in a row. Hirsch rolls her up for two, followed by a cross armbreaker for the win at 4:49.

Rating: C. Hirsch picks off another one and in theory that should impress Maria a bit more. I’m not sure what Maria is setting up but at least Hirsch is getting to do something that might matter in a bit. It’s not a great match or anything, but it might matter going forward and I’ll take that around here.

Dalton Castle vs. Peter Avalon

Avalon is rather impressed by Castle’s over the top entrance. Castle wrestles him down to start but Avalon grabs a headlock takeover. A t-bone suplex cuts Avalon down and the Bang A Rang finishes for Castle at 2:35.

Shane Taylor is tired of hearing about the old guard. Now it is his chance to fight one of them himself and he’s back to establishing his own legacy. Good promo.

Metalik vs. Tony Nese

Ari Daivari is here with Nese, who does his usual bit before Jerry Lynn cuts him off. He’s tired of hearing this too, so here is someone from Nese’s past. Commentary being surprised despite introducing the match is a bit odd but far from new around here. Metalik stars fast with his rope walk dropkick to knock Nese outside but Nese trips him down.

Back in and Metalik gets tied in the Tree of Woe for the rapid fire kicks to the chest before grabbing the bodyscissors. Metalik is sent to the apron where he avoids a charge and hits an Asai moonsault. Back in and Metalik hits a reverse Sling Blade into the rope walk dropkick for two. Nese sends him hard into the corner but walks into a superkick and the Metalik Driver for the pin at 7:09.

Rating: C+. Commentary mentioned that these two had wrestled 34 times before and if that is the case, I’m not sure it’s something you want to brag about. This was hardly a noteworthy main event, but they seem to think they have something with this YOU’RE ALL FAT thing. Nese is one of those people who is going to be here no matter what, and while that can get old, it doesn’t seem likely to change anytime soon.

Overall Rating: C-. Unless you will take any wrestling you can get, there is no point to watching this show. Between the match quality ranging from pretty good to incredibly dull, stories going either glacially slow or faster than anyone could need them to and the same wrestlers doing the same thing week after week, you could probably skip months of this show without missing anything.

At the end of the day, I just sat through almost two hours and fifteen minutes for a main event featuring a match that was played out when it was on 205 Live years ago. This show doesn’t build to anything most of the title, matches are just trotted out there for the sake of extending the show, and there is nothing to indicate that it is going to change because Tony Khan has decided that this show is A, good and B, necessary for some reason. Another complete waste of time, which might as well be ROH’s motto since its return.

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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ECW On Sci Fi
Date: June 3, 2008
Location: Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
Attendance: 10,000
Commentators: Mike Adamle, Tazz

We have a new #1 contender to the ECW Title as Big Show gets to revive his feud against Kane, a mere nine years after they had such a terrible feud in the first place. Normally I would say other than that, but it isn’t like there is much going on here other than Colin Delaney vs. Armando Estrada. Let’s get to it.

Here is One Night Stand if you need a recap.

Teddy Long takes over Armando Estrada’s office and is apparently the new GM.

Opening sequence.

CM Punk vs. Tommy Dreamer vs. John Morrison vs. Chavo Guerrero

The winner gets Kane (not said to be a title match) later tonight. Dreamer and Morrison pair off while Punk knees Chavo in the corner. Morrison misses the break dancing legdrop and Dreamer drops an elbow (on Tommy Morrison, according to Adamle) before Punk takes Dreamer into the corner. A clothesline puts Morrison on the floor and Adamle catches himself before getting the name wrong again (that’s a step). Chavo goes outside as well so Punk hits the big dive to take them out.

Back in and Morrison’s Flying Chuck gets two on Punk with Dreamer making the save. Dreamer gets Morrison in the Texas Cloverleaf so Chavo comes in with Three Amigos to put Dreamer down. Morrison catches Chavo on top but Punk knocks them both down, with Morrison getting tied in the Tree of Woe. Dreamer (who Adamle ALSO calls Tommy Morrison) hits a running basement dropkick but Chavo comes off the top with the frog splash. Punk is right there with the GTS to finish Chavo (of the Chavo Morrison’s I believe) and get the match with Kane.

Rating: C+. Usual fast paced action here with Punk winning to set up what could be an interesting Punk vs. Kane match. That being said, it was a five minute match and I’m not sure how Adamle can be this bad at his job. He’s been doing this for a bit now and it shouldn’t be hard to keep track of basic names. Adamle just doesn’t seem cut out for this job and that is becoming more obvious every week.

Teddy Long shows Armando Estrada a letter from the Board Of Directors, saying he is no longer ECW GM. He’s also no longer going to be so highly paid, but he can have a match tonight….against Matt Hardy.

Shelton Benjamin vs. Matt Sydal

Kofi Kingston is on commentary. Benjamin powers Sydal around to start but Sydal is right back up with a running headscissors. A top rope Meteora gives Sydal two as commentary is rather impressed. Benjamin isn’t having that and hits a rather hard snapmare into the corner, setting up an armbar. A clothesline cuts off Sydal’s comeback and Benjamin tosses him hard to the floor. That’s not enough for Benjamin, who throws Sydal into Kofi and gets the countout.

Rating: C. If that wasn’t a tryout for Sydal, he probably got at least another look as a result. Sydal got in some offense here and looked rather smooth in doing so. Benjamin vs. Kingston continues and is probably building to what could be a nice main event. For now though, points for a bit of a unique finish, with Sydal not even getting pinned.

Post match Kofi charges in for the fight with Benjamin, who manages to send him into the steps and escape.

Matt Hardy vs. Armando Estrada

Non-title. Hardy blocks a kick and sends him down but Estrada gets in a few right hands in the corner. Not that it matters, as Hardy shrugs them off and hits the Twist Of Fate to finish in about a minute.

Post match here is Teddy Long to say not so fast because Estrada has one more chance to prove he is worth all that money in his contract.

Colin Delaney vs. Armando Estrada

Delaney Oklahoma rolls him for two at the bell, followed by an O’Connor roll for the pin in less than thirty seconds.

Post break Estrada yells at Long, who says Estrada can wrestle here, but not with a contract. He can be like Delaney used to be! Ron Simmons comes in for the catchphrase.

Video on a press conference today in Los Angeles to promote Million Dollar Mania (with HHH getting in the required Dr. Evil impression).

Kane vs. CM Punk

Non-title. Kane shoves him down to start and Punk might need a different strategy. Punk works on the arm for a change but Kane powers him down again. Back up and Punk knocks him outside, only to get dropped with a heck of a right hand. Kane chokes Punk over his back but Punk fires off some knees. Not that they make much of a difference as Kane hits a big boot to send us to a break.

Back with Kane holding an abdominal stretch before kicking him down again. Some forearms to the back set up a bodyscissors to make Punk scream a bit more. Punk fights up and manages a sunset flip for two, only to get his head take off by a clothesline. The bodyscissors goes on again but Punk fights up for the fourth or so time.

A bunch of running knees in the corner look to set up the running bulldog but Kane reverses into a belly to back for two. Punk grabs a springboard bulldog for two of his own, only to get dropped with a side slam. There’s the top rope clothesline for two more but the chokeslam is countered. Punk’s ribs are too banged up for the GTS though and Kane chokeslams him for the pin.

Rating: B-. This took time to get going but it picked up a lot once it stopped being a squash. I’m not sure why Kane needed to beat him up this badly, though Punk does have an out by wrestling three times in two days as opposed to Kane’s one. Still though, this was a bit more one sided than it needed to be, as Punk is hardly some loser who should be getting crushed.

Post match Miz and John Morrison come in to take out Kane.

A bunch of replays end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. The main event helped a lot and Punk opening and closing the show was a good idea, but my goodness the Draft cannot come soon enough around here. They just need some fresh blood and this show proved it badly. You can only rearrange people so many different ways before you run out of ideas and they reached that point a good while ago. Punk and Kane can’t do everything forever and that is going to have to change sooner than later.

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Rampage
Date: July 21, 2023
Location: TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Chris Jericho

We’re in for one of the more unique shows this week as this was taped after Blood & Guts, meaning it’s a double ring. Therefore, we’re getting the Royal Rampage two ring battle royal, which was rather well received for the most part last week. Other than that, the road to All In/Out needs to get started so let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Royal Rampage

So you have a red ring (with Darby Allin in at #1) and a blue ring (with Swerve Strickland in at #2). Those rings have a Royal Rumble each (with one minute intervals) and the winners eventually go one on one for the All Out TNT Title shot. Jay Lethal (Red) and Nick Wayne (Blue) are in at #2…..as Excalibur has lost his voice. Allin and Wayne take over to start as Excalibur’s voice suddenly pops in (I wonder if that’s in post production) and Jericho gets in the interesting bit of three of these entrants being from the Seattle area.

Minoru Suzuki (Red) is in at #3 and teams up with Lethal to beat on Allin as Brian Cage (Blue) is in at #3 to help go after Wayne (Red and Blue are now getting alternating entrances rather than coming in at the same time). Cage plants Wayne as Ethan Page (Red) is in at #4 to go after Lethal until Komander (Blue) is in at #4. Komander walks the ropes and steps over Cage’s shoulders to DDT Strickland in a cool spot. Butcher (Red) is in at #5 as we still haven’t had any eliminations.

Big Bill (Blue) is in at #5, with Chris Jericho going into MJF’s story of slamming Bill for a nice chuckle. Page gets rid of Lethal but Lethal grabs his hand, allowing Suzuki to toss Page as well. Butcher and Suzuki slug it out, with Butcher actually getting rid of him as Blade (Red) is in at #6.

We take a break and come back with Brother Zay (Blue) having come in at #6. Toa Liona (Red) is in at #7 and the three villains throw Allin into the corner. Matt Sydal (Blue) is in at #7 and teams up with Zay to clean a bit of house (still no eliminations in Blue). Bishop Kaun (Red) is in at #8, giving us Butcher/The Blade vs. Gates of Agony as Allin tries to recover. Zay is tossed and Butcher and Blade follow to clear things out rather quickly. Matt Hardy (Blue) is in at #8 and hits a DDT on Bill. Allin has to dodge the Gates as Matt Menard (Red) is in at #9.

Sydal is out as the Gates stare Menard down for some reason. Instead Menard goes after Allin in the corner as Jeff Jarrett (Blue) is in at #9. Angelo Parker (Red) is in at #10 to complete the first ring (Toa, Kaun, Parker, Menard and Allin). Jake Hager (Blue) is in at #10 to complete the second ring (Matt Hardy, Big Bill, Jake Hager, Jeff Jarrett, Komander, Brian Cage, Nick Wayne, Swerve Strickland) and we take a break.

Back with Allin slipping out of a quadruple powerbomb and dropkicking the Gates to the apron. The Gates dump Menard and Parker and Toa tackles the heck out of Allin. Hardy gets rid of Jarrett but gets F5’d into a cutter, allowing Bill to knock him out. As Komander and Hager were apparently eliminated during the break, Swerve dumps Bill to get us down to three in the Blue ring.

Actually make it two as Wayne just jumps to the Red ring (which I guess you can do) and helps Allin get rid of Kaun. So we’re down to five total (Cage, Wayne, Strickland, Allin and Toa) until Wayne and Swerve get rid of Cage. Swerve drops Wayne out and All low bridges Toa, leaning we’re down to Swerve vs. Allin for the whole thing.

Allin sends Swerve to the apron but cue Prince Nana to hit Allin with a skateboard. Swerve powerbombs Allin onto the skateboard (wheels up because of course) and they go to the apron, but Allin slips out of a suplex to get back inside. Allin hits a spear through the ropes (not over so he’s fine) for the win at 28:32.

Rating: B. I really didn’t care for last year’s version all that much but they put this one together far better, with the cameras cutting just enough to keep track of everything going on. Allin going wire to wire is a very Allin thing to do and him getting the big title shot in Chicago will work well. Good stuff here and it never felt long, so well done on fixing what was wrong last year.

Acclaimed/Billy Gunn vs. QTV

Billy and Johnny TV start things off and don’t go anywhere, so it’s off to Marshall, complete with a very bandaged back. Bowens comes in for the jumping Fameasser and we get some scissoring to send us to a break. Back with Gunn getting the hot tag as everything breaks down. Bowens gets to clean house but Johnny clotheslines Billy and Max down. Solo adds a top rope double stomp for two on Billy but Bowens is back in with the Arrival. Max drops the Mic Drop for the pin at 8:47.

Rating: C+. See now this is a good use of QTV. They can do their backstage stuff and wacky segments but then put over a bigger team in a decent match. Why that needs to involve Powerhouse Hobbs and drag him down is beyond me, but there is a place for goofs like them. The Acclaimed and Gunn get a decent win before their Trios Titles match tomorrow as well, so this was the right way to go.

Post match Bowens says they’re winning the titles tomorrow.

Video on Marina Shafir vs. Kris Statlander for the TBS Title.

TBS Title: Marina Shafir vs. Kris Statlander

Statlander is defending. They go with the grappling to start until Shafir grabs a suplex to take over. Some right hands on the mat have Statlander in trouble but she’s back up with an electric chair drop (good for three replays). Back up and Statlander hits a running knee in the corner, setting up a delayed vertical suplex (again with the three replays). Shafir gets a standing Figure Four but Shafir reverses and hits Friday Night Fever to retain at 5:02.

Rating: C. This was just a quick “hey here’s a title match” match and it went as well as could be expected. Statlander is still in the mode of having to reestablish herself and the best way to do that is stacking up wins. Shafir is fine as the grappler/MMA woman of the division and she did fine here, but there wasn’t time for this to get anywhere.

Overall Rating: B-. About half of this show was one match which went well so you could only complain so much about it. If you ignore that some of the wrestlers were working both the ROH PPV and appearing here at the same time (which must be the most difficult issue to overcome in history), it’s a completely entertaining enough show. Granted that’s mainly due to something that won’t be around every week, but I’ll take what I can get.

Results
Darby Allin won the Royal Rampage last eliminating Swerve Strickland
Acclaimed/Billy Gunn b. QTV – Mic Drop to Solo
Kris Statlander b. Marina Shafir – Friday Night Fever

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Ring Of Honor
Date: July 13, 2023
Location: Brandt Center, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
Commentators: Caprice Coleman, Ian Riccaboni

We are eight days away from Death Before Dishonor and have a total of one match announced for the show. That leaves a lot of open spots, but it has me worried about how many matches are going to be dumped onto the card in rapid succession. Just getting a handful of them covered this week would be nice so let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Matt Sydal calls in Brian Cage for a chat, saying Cage can’t beat him. Cage tells him to find two partners, which Sydal says will be easy.

Serpentico vs. Big Bill

Serpentico tells Bill to bring it and is quickly knocked outside. Back in and Bill sends him outside again so this time Serpentico strikes away. Bill charges after him and gets caught with a suicide shove but Bill sends him flying inside. The chokeslam is escaped though and a headscissors sends Bill into the corner. Then Bill knocks him out of the corner and nails a big boot. Another big boot sets up the chokeslam to finish Serpentico at 4:30.

Rating: C. This was little more than a squash as Serpentico was more like a fly buzzing around Bill, who eventually caught him. Bill is getting the idea of being a to the point giant and that should work well for him. Don’t overthink him and it will work out well, and thankfully AEW seems to get that.

We’re having a four man tournament for a TV Title shot at Death Before Dishonor and here are the brackets:

Dalton Castle
Tony Nese

Shane Taylor
Shawn Dean

Athena vs. Ava Lawless

Non-title Proving Ground match, meaning if Lawless wins or survives the ten minute time limit, she gets a future title shot. Lawless hits her in the face a few times and grabs a Sling Blade. That’s too much for Athena, who BLASTS her with a shot to the face. A big boot sets up a crossface to make Lawless tap at 1:43.

Post match Athena sends her face first into the title, as usual.

The Righteous/Stu Grayson vs. Levi Night/Michael Allen Richard Clark/Evan Rivers

Grayson jumps Rivers to start so it’s off to Night, who gets a nice reaction. He also gets driven into the corner so Dutch can come in to put him down. Cue Evil Uno to sit in a chair at ringside as Vincent comes in to stomp on Night. A double belly to back suplex is broken up and it’s the hot tag to bring in Clark for the house cleaning. The Righteous isn’t having that and it’s Nightfall into the triple flipping slam to finish Clark at 4:14.

Rating: C. That’s what he gets for having such an unnecessarily long name. The Righteous and Grayson are fine but the Evil Uno stuff continues to be there for the sake of trying to draw some interest. Evil Uno isn’t interesting on Dynamite and he’s not going to be here either, but he’s going to stick around no matter what for some reason.

Post match Uno is told to come in but he chairs Rivers in the back instead.

Matt Sydal has found Christopher Daniels and Darius Martin to go after the Six Man Tag Team Titles.

Bambi Hall vs. Leyla Hirsch

Hall powers her down to start but Hirsch is right back up with a running forearm. Some clotheslines against the ropes have Hall in more trouble but she powers back up. A Backpack Stunner is broken up though and Hirsch cross armbreakers her for the tap at 3:16.

Rating: C. Hirsch instantly feels like someone who could be a big player in the women’s division and that is great to see. She has a different enough style that it makes you want to see what she can do and that is a rare treat. I still think there could be something in Hall, but she needs a lot more ring time to get polished up.

TV Title #1 Contenders Tournament: Dalton Castle vs. Tony Nese

Before the match, Nese (with the rest of the Varsity Athletes) does his usual insults to the health and hygiene of the fans. Castle, with the Boys, interrupt and we’re ready to go. They trade waistlocks to start but it’s too early for the Bang A Rang, with Castle getting knocked into the ropes. Back up and Castle wrestles him down without much trouble and hits a splash.

They head outside with Castle clotheslining the post by mistake to give Nese a big target. Back in and Nese cranks on the bad arm before missing a springboard moonsault. Castle snaps off the overhead belly to belly suplexes but Ari Daivari offers a distraction. Not that it matters as Castle snaps off the Bang A Rang for the pin at 8:14.

Rating: B-. It’s amazing how much easier Nese is to watch when there is SOMETHING on the line. That being said, Castle winning here, and probably the whole tournament, is absolutely the right way to go. He feels like an absolute star and it makes sense to give him the title shot, if not the title outright.

TV Title #1 Contenders Tournament First Round: Shawn Dean vs. Shane Taylor

Dean fires off a dropkick to start but Shane hits one heck of a shot to the face to knock him down. Some shots to the ribs have Dean in trouble and a bearhug makes it worse. Taylor misses a charge into the corner though, allowing Dean to hit a jumping knee to the face. Dean gets planted again but Taylor misses a middle rope splash. An uppercut staggers Taylor but he comes right back with a headbutt. The big forearm finishes Dean at 6:39.

Rating: C+. This wasn’t so much a competitive match as much as it was a study in Dean trying to survive. Taylor is a monster and was wrestling like one here, which didn’t leave many openings for Dean. There’s nothing wrong with a match without much drama and that is what we had here, as Dean tried but was completely overwhelmed.

The Boys vs. The Kingdom

There’s no Maria here (as Jerry Lynn is apparently investigating her injury from last week). Taven takes Brent into the corner to start and then scores with a dropkick. Brent doesn’t like Taven ordering Brent to call him daddy and hits Taven in the face, earning himself a bigger beating.

It’s off to Brandon, who gets chopped down by Bennett as the fans wonder where Maria is. Brandon gets knocked silly with a left hand and the backbreaker/elbow combination gets two. An armbar sends Brandon over to the ropes as commentary thinks the Boys are being taken lightly. Brandon manages to flip out of a belly to back suplex though and it’s time for Brent to clean house. Not that it matters as the Kingdom cleans house, setting up Just The Tip into Rockstar Supernova to finish Brent at 8:50.

Rating: C+. The Kingdom is still good in the ring, but you can really feel the lack of Maria here. She makes the team that much more interesting and it hurt a lot to have her gone. Hopefully she is back soon, as I could go for the Kingdom getting a title shot, perhaps even at the pay per view.

Six Man Tag Team Titles: The Embassy vs. Christopher Daniels/Matt Sydal/Darius Martin

The Embassy is defending. Kaun takes Daniels into the corner to start but gets hit in the face for his efforts. Daniels manages to knock him into the corner for a Downward Spiral and Sydal comes in. Martin hits a dropkick but gets dropped with a chop so Toa can come in. That doesn’t last long so Cage comes in for the curling all away slam to Daniels. A corner splash crushes Daniels and Cage suplexes him for two.

Daniels slips away and brings in Martin to clean house, including a bulldog to send Toa throat first into the middle rope (that’s a new one). Martin kicks Cage in the chest and hands it back to Sydal for the top rope Meteora. An F5 gives Cage two but Sydal counters a powerbomb into a hurricanrana for two. Everything breaks down and Sydal has to be saved from Open The Gates. Sydal small packages Cage for two but gets caught with the Drill Claw for the pin at 12:01.

Rating: C+. And so we continue to see how little these titles matter, as a group of challengers are literally thrown together and get their title shot on the same night. Other than giving Cage something to do, why are these titles here? Yes I know that they were around because New Japan had some years ago and Ring Of Honor copied them, but look around. There is no division and it isn’t like they make anyone look more important. Granted that has been the case for years and nothing has changed, but egads it’s getting worse every time they’re out there.

Overall Rating: C+. Now this is more like it. This show went just shy of 80 minutes, didn’t overstay its welcome, and never felt like it was dragging. I’ve said from the beginning that there is a nice hour to hour and a half show in there somewhere and that is what we were seeing here. This was WAY easier to watch and they even had something on the line in some of the matches. Now granted I’m scared of the huge card dump that we’re going to get because Death Before Dishonor is in eight days and has two matches, but that’s a Tony Khan production for you. This was a much better way of doing things and please keep it up.

Results
Big Bill b. Serpentico – Chokeslam
Athena b. Ava Lawless – Crossface
The Righteous/Stu Grayson b. Levi Night/Michael Allen Richard Clark/Evan Rivers
Leyla Hirsch b. Bambi Hall – Cross armbreaker
Dalton Castle b. Tony Nese – Bang A Rang
Shane Taylor b. Shawn Dean – Forearm
The Kingdom b. The Boys – Rockstar Supernova to Brent
The Embassy b. Darius Martin/Christopher Daniels/Matt Sydal – Drill Claw to Sydal

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Rampage
Date: July 7, 2023
Location: Rogers Place, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Chris Jericho

It’s the 100th episode of the show and we have something of a grudge match on our hands. This time around, Hangman Page/the Young Bucks are facing the Dark Order, who still aren’t happy with how Page has treated them. Other than that, we have more tournament shenanigans to get through so let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Young Bucks/Hangman Page vs. Dark Order

Reynolds shoulders Nick down to start so it’s off to Page. That means Reynolds needs to bail a bit and then he does it again on the floor. This time Nick kicks him in the head and it’s time for the Elite to start diving. Back in and Matt rolls the northern lights suplexes on Reynolds before adding Silver for the last one. Risky Business gets two on Reynolds and the fans describe this one sided match, which hasn’t lasted four minutes yet, as AWESOME.

Silver gets in a cheap shot from the floor though and Evil Uno comes in to strike away in the corner. Nick tries to flip over to the corner but the Order pulls Page and Matt down and we take a break. Back with Matt knocking Reynolds off the top and diving onto Uno and Silver. Page comes in to clean house, including a clothesline to send Reynolds outside for a slingshot dive.

Everything breaks down and Un is sent tot he apron for a big boot from Page. The Bucks catch Uno, allowing Page to hit the running shooting star from the apron. Back in and Matt hits a slingshot Canadian Destroyer on Reynolds, followed by a top rope elbow for two. Silver is back in for a kick to the head but Nick makes the save, setting up the Meltzer Driver on Matt for two with Uno making the save.

Page and Uno slug it out until the Bucks come back in to clean house with the superkicks. Page can’t bring himself to Buckshot Lariat Uno so the Bucks dive onto the rest of the Order. Cue Konosuke Takeshita for a distraction, allowing Claudio Castagnoli to hit a heck of an uppercut on Page. Uno gets the pin at 13:56.

Rating: B-. Pushing the Dark Order as something serious is certainly a choice, though it’s not like this was some clean win that is going to change their fortunes. The action was good as Silver and Reynolds are still a pretty decent tag team. Castagnoli or Takeshita vs. Page could make for a good showdown and that’s what matters here, especially if it gets Page away from the Dark Order again.

Post match Kenny Omega comes out to clear the ring.

QTV is still relatively clueless, including Harley Cameron thinking she’ll make a cute couple with Anthony Bowens. In a related story, Johnny TV doesn’t like Max Castor’s music.

Blind Eliminator Tag Team Tournament: Daniel Garcia/Sammy Guevara vs. Matt Hardy/Jeff Jarrett

The rest of Jarrett’s cronies are here too. Garcia waistlocks Matt to start but gets reversed into a headlock. Guevara comes in and gets hiptossed by Jarrett, setting up the strut. That earns Guevara a dropkick to the floor and garcia gets in his own strut. The running flip dive takes out Jay Lethal by mistake though and we take a break. Back with Matt hitting Splash Mountain for two on Garcia and punching Guevara out of the air. Jarrett’s cronies try to offer a distraction (despite Jeff’s partner being in control) so the guitar can be slid in. Matt is sent into Lethal, allowing Guevara to hit the GTH, though Garcia steals the pin at 8:45.

Rating: C+. They got the result right here, as the Society team moves forward over a team who wasn’t going to work together well. Both Garcia and Guevara need to break free of Jericho, but they do work well together without him. Matt not wanting to cheat like Jarrett and his friends made sense, though I’m almost scared of the Hardys getting together to fight Jarrett and his cronies.

Post match the beatdown is on and Brother Zay’s save attempt doesn’t work. Ethan Page makes the real save.

Video on Collision.

Hikaru Shida vs. Marina Shafir

Shafir kicks her down to start but Shida is back with a bunch of kicks. A running knee gets two on Shafir and the Falcon Arrow gets the same. The Katana finishes Shafir off at 3:30.

Rating: C. It’s nice to have Shida out there getting a win, even if it is over Shafir. I’m not sure if it is the constant having to head back to Japan or something else, but you would think Shida would be worth a stronger push. She has all the tools, with the striking being on display in this one.

Kris Statlander is a fighting champion and she’ll face anyone anywhere. She is the defeater of the undefeated (and thinks that would be a good shirt) and Kris Stat is where it’s at. Those are some pretty terrible taglines but giving Statlander camera time is a good thing.

Blind Eliminator Tag Team Tournament First Round: Trent Baretta/Matt Sydal vs. Brian Cage/Big Bill

Cage runs Sydal over without much trouble to start and it’s off to Bill vs. Trent. Some shots to the face stagger Bill and Trent knocks him outside, where Bill chokeslams him onto the apron. A fall away slam sends Trent flying and we take a break. Back with Trent DDTing his way out of trouble, allowing the tag off to Sydal. Cage and Bill get struck down and stereo double stomps to the back keep Bill in trouble. Cage is back up with a double clothesline and all four head outside.

Sydal Meteoras Bill on the floor but Cage and Bill hit stereo slams for two back inside. Bill and Cage clothesline each other by mistake but Cage is back up with a discus lariat to Trent. Sydal ducks another discus lariat but the top rope Meteora is blocked. Trent release German superplexes Cage and adds a piledriver, setting up a top rope Meteora from Sydal for two. Back in and Bill runs the good guys over and it’s a powerbomb/clothesline combination to finish Sydal at 12:24.

Rating: B. This match was a blast with everyone going hard and fast for a long time. Cage and Bill are rather good as a pair of monsters while Sydal and Trent worked well for a first time team. What mattered here was just letting everything go nuts and have a good time, which is all you can ask for out of something like this. Fun stuff.

Overall Rating: B-. You had a pair of fun matches here and the tag tournament is starting to take some shape. It made for an easy show to watch and that is what you need from Rampage. The show almost never feels important compared to Dynamite and Collision so letting it be an easy hour of TV is as important as it gets. Nice stuff here, and I’ll take something like this week to week.

Results
Dark Order b. Hangman Page/Young Bucks – Uppercut to Page
Daniel Garcia/Sammy Guevara b. Matt Hardy/Jeff Jarrett – GTH to Hardy
Hikaru Shida b. Marina Shafir – Katana
Brian Cage/Big Bill b. Matt Sydal/Trent Beretta – Clothesline/powerbomb combination to Sydal

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Ring Of Honor
Date: June 22, 2023
Location: United Center, Chicago, Illinois
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We’re onto the new reality of this show, as there were three matches taped before Collision and then about ten more after. I’m not sure why there needs to be that much done in one night but we do have a big main event this week. Women’s Champion Athena is defending against Kiera Hogan in a Chicago street fight which could be nice and violent. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Tony Khan and the Board present Samoa Joe with a new TV Title belt. Jerry Lynn manages to talk here, saying “Tony it is my pleasure to” before the belt is ripped from his hands.

Serpentico/Kip Sabian/Butcher and the Blade vs. Lucha Bros/El Hijo del Vikingo/Komander

Bunny and Luther are here with the villains. Serpentico and Vikingo start things off, with Vikingo being monkey flipped into the corner. A powerbomb plants Vikingo but he’s right back with a spinning kick to the face. Butcher comes in to send Komander to the floor and Sabian adds a springboard moonsault. The reverse Cannonball connects back inside and a fisherman’s suplex gives Sabian two.

Komander tornado DDTs his way to freedom and the hot tag brings in Penta to clean house. Fenix’s springboard high crossbody helps clear out some villains and a quadruple superkick puts all of them down. The spike Fear Factor is broken up though and Sabian’s double stomp gets two on Penta. Another quadruple superkick sets up a big row your boat spot. The dives take out Butcher/Blade/Sabian, leaving Penta to Fear Factor Serpentico for the pin at 7:17.

Rating: B-. Komander and Vikingo didn’t get to do much here but it was a fun opener with the lowest level villain taking the pin. This is a good way to get the crowd into a show as they will always react to a match like this one. I’m not sure who is going to come after the Tag Team Titles, as the Bros have held them for almost three months and haven’t defended them on a Ring Of Honor show yet. I’m sure that will change at Death Before Dishonor, but that’s a long reign without many defenses.

Gringo Loco vs. Willie Mack

Loco is the hometown boy and works on the wrist to start. Some flips get Loco out of the corner but Mack snaps off a handspring to block a headscissors. A DDT out of the corner plants Loco and Mack kicks him in the face for a bonus. Mack grabs the chinlock with a knee in the back, followed by the Samoan drop and standing moonsault for two.

Loco knocks him off the ropes though and there’s the springboard moonsault to hit Mack. Another dive to the floor sets up a missed moonsault back inside. Mack’s Sky High gets two and they trade kicks to the head for a double knockdown. They go up top at the same time, allowing Loco to snap off a super Spanish Fly for the pin at 7:45.

Rating: B-. Another back and forth match here with Loco getting the win in a nice moment. Loco is someone who catches your eye no matter what he is doing and that might be worth a closer look in the future. Then you have Mack, who feels like he should already be a star but almost never wins anything. I get having a good hand, but Mack being something higher on the card should have been a given a good while ago.

Respect is shown post match.

Trish Adora vs. Allysin Kay

They fight over a lockup to start and Kay bails into the corner. Adora grabs a headscissors n a standing Kay but can’t stay up, allowing Kay to fire off some right hands. Kay gets two off a swinging neckbreaker and sends her hard into the corner. Back up and Adora suplexes her way to freedom, setting up some hip attacks in the corner. The Lariat Tubman is cut off with a kick to the face but the second attempt finishes Kay at 4:51.

Rating: C. This didn’t have time to go anywhere but it’s nice to see Adora getting a win for a change. Adora is unique enough to stand out in the division and Kay has some name recognition to be valuable. I could go for having both of these two around more often, and at least Adora got a bit of a boost.

Silas Young vs. Kyle Fletcher

They fight over wrist control to start until Young cuts off a charge with a kick to the ribs. Fletcher knees him to the floor and hits a suicide dive. Back in and Young takes him into the corner for a running shot and of course that means some trash talking. Fletcher is back with a suplex and a belly to back version gets two. A brainbuster gets two more but Young sends him to the apron and hits a springboard clothesline. Back up and Fletcher hits a superkick, setting up a lifting arm trap reverse DDT to finish Young at 6:24.

Rating: C+. Fletcher has been all over the AEW/ROH shows in recent weeks and it’s almost strange to see him morphing into a fan favorite. That certainly was the situation here, though that might have something to do with Young being a rather unpleasant sort. I’m not sure what Fletcher’s ceiling around here is but he’s certainly off to a nice start.

The Embassy vs. Trenton Storm/AJZ/Luke Kurtis

Non-title and Prince Nana is here with the Embassy. Toa runs Kurtis over and shoulders him in the corner to start. Kurtis sunset flip doesn’t work and a DDT does even less as we’re back in the 80s. Storm comes in to dropkick Cage, who clotheslines him down. Cage hits a release German suplex and it’s AJZ coming in to clean some house. A Stunner over the ropes cuts that off fast though and everything breaks down. Toa plants AJZ with Jimmy Rave’s Greetings From Ghana for the pin at 4:56.

Rating: C. This was mostly a squash as the Embassy continues to dominate the most worthless division in wrestling. I’m sure they’ll defend the titles at Death Before Dishonor and I’m sure it will be a most important match, as the division might be back up to three teams by that point. More of the same here from the Embassy and that’s all it should have been.

Dalton Castle vs. Josh Woods

The Boys and the Varsity Athletes are here too. Castle looks into the camera and says take a look at the greatest thing on your television or mobile device. They go with the grappling to start with Woods grabbing a front facelock. Woods sends him to the apron and pulls him face first into the rope to really take over. Hold on though as Castle and the Boys have a quick run around the ring to wake them up. Back in and Castle grabs a waistlock before a running boot to the face knocks Woods outside.

A Sterling distraction lets Woods grab a backbreaker into a German suplex for two as the villain takes over. Woods grabs his own waistlock but Castle suplexes his way to freedom. The Bang A Rang is blocked and Sterling breaks up another attempt. Woods powerbombs him into a hard knee to the face for two but Castle clotheslines him to the floor. Castle DEMANDS A BOY and a few of them are thrown at the Athletes. Back in and the Bang A Rang finishes Woods at 9:32.

Rating: B. There are certain matches that you know are going to be good based on the talent involved. That was certainly on display here, as both of them are solid amateur wrestlers and know their way around an ROH match as well. Castle still has value despite being years removed from the main event scene so it’s cool to see him pick up a hard fought win like this one.

Last week, the Kingdom buttered Stokely Hathaway up about getting a future Tag Team Title match. Apparently the Infantry has been talking trash about them, which doesn’t sit well with Hathaway.

We cut to the Infantry telling Hathaway the Kingdom are the ones who don’t believe in him. The match is made, but the sunglasses still look ridiculous.

The Infantry vs. The Kingdom

The Infantry are hometown boys also. Dean dropkicks Bennett to start and Bravo comes in for two off a splash. A slingshot cutter drops Taven for two with Maria having to make a save. Taven comes back in and beats on Bravo in the corner, setting up a brainbuster for two. Taven’s DDT gets the same as some early frustration sets in. Bravo manages to send Taven into the corner though and a diving tag brings Dean back in to pick up the pace. Back up and Taven hits a springboard kick to the face and it’s already back to Bravo, with commentary saying he might not be ready.

Bennett gets knocked down for a frog splash from Bravo with Taven having to make a rather last second save. A pump kick/Russian legsweep combination drops Taven but Bennett runs the Infantry over. Maria gets on the apron for a distraction, allowing Bennett to chair Bravo. Cue Trish Adora to take out Maria though, leaving Dean to roll Bennett up for the upset pin at 7:22.

Rating: B-. They kept the action going here and that near fall close to the end was very good. The Infantry winning was a surprise and it’s nice to see a new team getting moved higher up the ladder. I’m a bit surprised by the Kingdom losing, but they only have so much equity loaded up in recent months that the loss isn’t too devastating.

Blake Christian/Matt Sydal vs. Lee Moriarty/Big Bill

Moriarty headlocks Sydal over to start but Sydal is back with a dropkick. The exchange of front facelocks sets up Sydal’s running hurricanrana. A standing corkscrew moonsault gets two on Moriarty and Christian comes in to pick the pace up rather quickly. Sydal hits a running boot in the corner and now it’s Bill coming in to glare at Sydal for a change. A hurricanrana is blocked and Bill even throws in a little dance.

Moriarty comes back in and stomps away in the corner so much that Bill has to break it up. Bill misses a charge in the corner and Sydal dives over for the tag to bring Christian in. The Fosbury Flop hits Moriarty and a 450 gets two, with Bill making a save. Bill’s swinging Boss Man Slam gets two on Christian, with Sydal having to make a save. With Sydal on the floor, Bill chokeslams Christian onto the apron. The East River Crossing finishes Christian at 9:56.

Rating: C+. Another nice tag match here as Bill gets to pin someone for a change. He’s starting to find himself as the big monster and that is something that could serve him well going forward. There is always something to be said about someone who can run people over with straight power and that is what he does rather well. Sydal falls pretty fast after his title shot last week, but he very well could bounce back up.

The Kingdom is livid and promise revenge. They knew Stokely Hathaway and remember going to Cracker Barrel with him, where he would apparently order a kid’s meal. Well now Mike Bennett is going to Jerry Lynn and tell him how much he loved ECW. He didn’t of course, but that’s what he’s going to say!

Dark Order vs. Davey Bang/August Matthews

Silver wrestles Bang down without much trouble and then drops him with a clothesline. Reynolds comes in with a tiger driver for two and it’s Matthews coming in to get forearmed in the face. Everything breaks down and Bang is sent into the barricade, leaving Matthews to get caught with the finishing sequence. The jackknife rollup finishes for Reynolds at 2:27. Rather to the point here, though the Dark Order was doing more violent tendencies for a likely rematch with the Righteous/Stu Grayson.

Post match Grayson and the Righteous pop up on screen and say they want to see more of that Dark Order aggression next week. The Dark Order beats them up some more.

Mark Sterling interrupts Diamante and offers to split the winners purse (51/49 to Sterling of course) rather than have her fight Leila Grey. No.

Diamante vs. Leila Grey

Mark Sterling is here with Grey. Diamante offers to lay down before running Grey over with a clothesline. Grey bails to the floor and there’s a baseball slide to take her down again. Back in and Diamante chops away but gets taken down by a running hair pull. The backsplash misses though and Diamante loads up a reverse DDT. Sterling offers a distraction to break it up though and Grey grabs a rollup with feet on the ropes for the pin at 4:04.

Rating: C-. Not much to this one and it’s quite the choice to have Grey beat Diamante, who was getting a bit of a build up in recent weeks. Then again Sterling isn’t on the show nearly enough and needs another act to feature with more often. The match didn’t have time to go anywhere and featured a lot of forearms in four minutes, so it was only going to be so good.

AR Fox/Action Andretti/Darius Martin vs. Shane Taylor/Workhorsemen

Fox has to dodge some Taylor swings to start before it’s quickly off to Martin. Drake pulls him to the floor to start the beating though, setting up a Cannonball in the corner. Everything breaks down in a hurry and Andretti gets to clean house, including a springboard spinning kick to Taylor’s head. A handspring elbow/German suplex combination drops Drake but Taylor is back up with the Marcus Garvey Driver for two. With everyone else on the floor, Henry misses a top rope stomp and gets rolled up by Fox for the pin at 4:19.

Rating: C+. It was fun while it lasted, but it didn’t last that long. This is a good example of a match that really didn’t need to be on the show. The Workhorsemen feel like they’re on the show every week and the winners really didn’t need a rehab win the day after their Dynamite loss. It’s ok to leave this until next week and shave some time off the show, especially when we’ve already had multiple six man tags (plus an eight man) this week.

Mark Sterling and Leila Grey declare her as the #1 baddie when Diamante comes in. A rematch seems imminent.

Rocky Romero vs. Daniel Garcia

Pure Rules and Romero takes him to the mat without much trouble to start, leaving Garcia frustrated. A lockup of all things sends Romero to the ropes for his first break, followed by a cross armbreaker to send Garcia to the ropes to even things up. The Forever Lariats are broken up and Garcia grabs a suplex for two. Romero tries a leglock and Garcia has to burn off another rope break.

Garcia is fine enough to come back with an STF, sending Romero straight to the ropes as well. A kick to the face lets Garcia stop to dance a bit (fans: “YOU CAN’T DANCE!”). They go up top, where Romero snaps off a hurricanrana, with Garcia using his third rope break at two. Garcia is right back with a Boston crab but Romero grabs the rope to get rid of all breaks. A penalty kick is blocked and Romero is back with a tornado DDT. Romero gets the cross armbreaker but Garcia kicks off the ropes into the Dragonslayer in the ropes for the tap at 11:15.

Rating: C+. This was “I can use a rope break too!” as a match and that is only going to get you so far. The Pure Rules stuff can work, but this felt like they were only trying to burn off rope breaks instead of going for a win. Other than that, Garcia and Romero are still only so interesting and they didn’t quite hit their best levels here.

Post match Garcia stays on him but Orange Cassidy comes in for the save.

Women’s Title: Athena vs. Kiera Hogan

Athena is defending in a street fight and they have well over twenty minutes here. Athena takes her down to start and grabs a ladder, which is dropkicked right back into her. Hogan’s hurricanrana off the apron sends Athena into another ladder, meaning it’s time to send some weapons inside. As usual, that takes too long and Athena gets in a kendo stick shot to take over.

Hogan is sent into a trashcan in the corner but the referee yelling at Athena lets Hogan fight up. A fisherman’s neckbreaker onto the trashcan drops Athena again but Hogan spends WAY too much time setting up a ladder bridge on the floor. That lets Athena avoid a middle rope splash and she stomps on a Chicago street sign.

A bunch of chairs are stacked up but Hogan sends Athena through a table. Hogan’s splash onto Athena onto a table doesn’t break anything, so Hogan goes to the middle rope to drive her through it instead. Another table is set up inside and Athena cuts her off again, only to get caught on top.

Athena superbombs her through another table so let’s bring in the thumbtacks. Hogan grabs a belly to back suplex to send Athena into the tacks for two. With the brawling not working, Hogan uses her braids to choke Athena, who superplexes her onto the pile of chairs on the floor for the retaining pin at 19:23.

Rating: C+. Yeah there was a bunch of violence and ladders and tables. All of that added up to nowhere near enough to make me believe that Kiera Hogan was going to take the title off of Athena, leaving this as nearly twenty minutes of taking too long to set up spots and waiting for Athena to crush her. Athena is outstanding right now and maybe the best thing about Ring Of Honor. She needs a strong challenger though, and Hogan never came close.

We get a quick Forbidden Door rundown.

Athena is livid about not being respected after the win and wants a new challenger. And that’s it.

Overall Rating: B-. This show started of well and then it just kept going. Then after that, it just kept going even longer, because that’s what Ring Of Honor does. I’m not sure why, as a fan in the arena, I would want two hours of Collision plus two and a half hours of Ring Of Honor on the same night, but it’s hard to imagine that the masses stuck around. As for the show itself, it was the usual situation: good action, but it goes on for so long that the positives lose so much impact because there is so much here. As is the case almost every week: cut this WAY down and it’s a much better show, but it’s not likely to happen.

Results
Komander/El Hijo del Vikingo/Lucha Bros b. Serpentico/Kip Sabian/Butcher and the Blade – Fear Factor to Serpentico
Gringo Loco b. Willie Mack – Super Spanish Fly
Trish Adora b. Allysin Kay – Lariat Tubman
Kyle Fletcher b. Silas Young – Lifting arm trap reverse DDT
The Embassy b. Trenton Storm/AJZ/Luke Kurtis – Greetings From Ghana to AJZ
Dalton Castle b. Josh Woods – Bang A Rang
The Infantry b. The Kingdom – Rollup to Bennett
Big Bill/Lee Moriarty b. Blake Christian/Matt Sydal – East River Crossing to Christian
Dark Order b. August Matthews/Danny Bang – Jackknife rollup to Matthews
Leila Grey b. Diamante – Rollup with feet on the ropes
AR Fox/Action Andretti/Darius Martin b. Shane Taylor/Workhorsemen – Rollup to Henry
Daniel Garcia b. Rocky Romero – Dragonslayer
Athena b. Kiera Hogan – Superplex onto a pile of chairs

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: June 15, 2023
Location: Universal Studios, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman, Nigel McGuinness

We’re about five weeks away from Death Before Dishonor and that means the card needs to start coming together. There is still enough time to burn off another show or two but things need to start heading in that direction. If nothing else, Claudio Castagnoli certainly needs a new challenger for the World Title. Let’s get to it.

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

Matt Sydal is ready to face Samoa Joe for the TV Title.

Samoa Joe is ready to face Matt Sydal for the TV Title. Points for treating this like a big time fight.

Opening sequence.

TV Title: Samoa Joe vs. Matt Sydal

Joe is defending and they’re starting fast here. Sydal goes after him and is immediately taken into the corner and forearmed down for his efforts. Back up and Sydal hits a jumping kick to the face to put Joe outside. The Meteora off the apron hits Joe but he runs Sydal over without much trouble back inside. The nerve hold keeps Sydal down and Joe cranks on the arm for a bonus.

Sydal fights up with some chops and a jumping knee, followed by a spinwheel kick, which leaves Sydal on the floor in a weird result. Back in and Joe’s powerbomb is countered into a hurricanrana, though Sydal comes up holding his knee. The knee is fine enough for a top rope Meteora and a near fall so Sydal goes up top. That’s fine with Joe, who crotches him down and grabs the MuscleBuster to retain at 6:46.

Rating: C+. That’s it? They built Sydal up as this big challenger for months and he just loses in about seven minutes? Joe has held the title for about fourteen months now and very few have given him a run for his money. I don’t think you can quite add Sydal to the list, but as for now, I’m not sure who else can challenge for the title, save for reheating Mark Briscoe.

Respect is shown post match.

Deimos vs. Nick Comoroto

This is Deimos’, with Teal Piper (Roddy’s daughter), debut. Deimos (rather tall and muscular) pounds Comoroto down to start and counters a slam into one of his own. They fight to the floor with Comoroto sending him into the steps to take over, followed by a running powerslam for two back inside. A Widowmaker gives Comoroto two but Deimos is back with a spinebuster. Deimos’ big boot gets two as Piper is starting to panic. Comoroto gets in a throat snap across the top though and it’s an Alabama Slam for the pin (with feet on the ropes) on Deimos at 5:14.

Rating: C. They were lumbering around a bit but this was a nice enough power match. Comoroto still feels like he could be something as he has the rather unique look and a good offense to back it up. Deimos is a tall guy and looks great, though he didn’t do much here to set him apart. I could go for more from both of them though, as some seasoning and experience could get them somewhere.

Mark Sterling has gotten Tony Nese some time to speak tonight.

Iron Savages vs. Tracy Williams/Rhett Titus

The Savages have their hype man Jacked Jameson with them. Boulder suplexes Williams to start before it’s off to Bronson, who gets sent into the corner. An armbar over the ropes slows Bronson down but the Savages get in stereo gorilla press slams to take over again. Titus comes in and kicks Bronson in the face, followed by a quick belly to belly.

Boulder comes back in for a Boss Man Slam/swinging sidewalk slam (cool) to plant them both. Back up and Williams/Titus manages something like a double AA on Boulder. Bronson comes back in and gets caught with a Hart Attack but Boulder is back in for the save. Bronson fire thunder drivers Titus onto Williams (that’s a new one) and an electric chair splash gives Bronson the pin at 4:56.

Rating: C+. The Savages might not be the most complicated team in the world but it is nice to see someone with that kind of power around here. Being so different makes them stand out ala a team like War Machine back in the day and Jameson is funny enough in short doses. Let these guys run through some more people on a regular basis and I could see them getting a title program down the line.

The Workhorsemen (who seem to be on every week) don’t like FTR, or Mark Briscoe for that matter. Briscoe can take FTR’s beating for them.

Diamante vs. Teal Piper

Deimos is here with Piper, who gets in a quick slam to start. A neckbreaker over the middle rope cuts Piper off though and Diamante hits the running corner dropkick. Diamante slaps her in the face, which is enough to fire Piper up for some kicks in the corner. A sleeper doesn’t work for Piper as it’s something like Cross Rhodes to bring her back down. Diamante ties up the arms in a choke for the stoppage at 4:11.

Rating: C. Piper didn’t get squashed here but she only showed so much. Maybe it would have been better if she hadn’t popped up in the earlier match, but seeing her twice in one night took away some of the special feeling. She has enough skill be have a run on the indies somewhere though and with some more experience, could be something down the line. Diamante is still good for a spot like this and I’m still not sure why she hasn’t gotten a bigger role before.

Respect is not shown post match.

Tony Nese vs. Serpentico

Before the match, Nese and the rest of the Varsity Athletes say they have tried to get the fans’ respect for years but it has never happened because the fans aren’t on the same level. Instead, the wrestling is on hold because it’s time for group exercise! Ari Daivari leads the exercise until Serpentico’s entrance interrupts.

Nese wrestles him down without much effort but Serpentico comes back up with a slap. That’s too far for Nese, who stomps away and nails a hard elbow for a bonus. Serpentico tries to fight up but gets caught with a spinning kick to the face to put him right back down. Nigel goes old school by saying Nese is the winner of this year’s Jesse The Body Award. Hold on though, as Riccaboni says that he won a pose down against Frankie Kazarian.

With that out of the way, Nese grabs a bodyscissors and hammers away, only to miss the springboard moonsault. Serpentico’s jumping Downward Spiral gives him a breather but Nese German suplexes him into the corner. The Running Nese is enough to finish Serpentico at 6:05.

Rating: C. As much as Nese vs. Serpentico is a main event….I’m thinking nowhere in the country, I can go with Nese and company actually having something to annoy the fans. Calling the fans fat and out of shape isn’t much, but it’s something that might get Nese some heat for a change. The match was little more than a squash, but they might be trying something with Nese and I’ll take the effort.

Athena makes fun of Kiera Hogan and gets decked from behind by the real one.

Notorious Mimi vs. Miranda Alize

They trade slaps to start with Alize knocking her into the corner and sweeping the leg out. A butterfly suplex gives Alize one and a hurricanrana driver is twice as good. Alize stops to yell at her and gets faceplanted for two but Alize is right back with a cutter. The Drive By (Shining Wizard) finishes Mimi at 3:11.

Rating: C-. Now this was more of a squash, as Alize ran through Mimi save for about fifteen seconds. I never got the big appeal of Alize in her original Ring Of Honor run and that has only been slightly upgraded here. She could certainly be a midcard villain and I could see a big showdown with someone like Skye Blue, so there does seem to be some value there. Mimi is apparently rather young and like many others on the show, needs a good bit more experience.

Dalton Castle/The Boys vs. The Righteous/Stu Grayson

Brent and Vincent start things off with Vincent running him over with an elbow. A dropkick works better for Brent so it’s Brandon coming in with a springboard high crossbody to Grayson. Everything breaks down and Castle is sent into the post, leaving Brent to get beaten down without much trouble.

Dutch hits a splash and Grayson adds a heck of a clothesline to keep Brent down. An enziguri gets Brent out of trouble though and the hot tag brings in Castle to clean house. A reverse Sling Blade drops Vincent but Dutch blocks a suicide dive. Back in and a triple flipping faceplant finishes Brent at 7:24.

Rating: C+. This was an energetic match with Castle and the Boys being their usual entertaining selves and the villains working well together. Grayson being the unofficial member of the Righteous works for him and they could be a nice team, especially if they’re done with the Dark Order. For now though, I’ll take a nice trios match.

The Dark Order promises to get more violent and ask if they’re Grayson’s family.

Athena vs. Trish Adora

Non-title Proving Ground match, meaning if Adora wins or survives the ten minute time limit, she gets a future title shot. We pause for Athena to yell at the fans to start, with commentary pointing out how stupid that is in a ten minute match. Adora slips out of an early headscissors but a test of strength lets her crank on Athena’s arm.

Athena bails to the floor and the distraction lets her snap the leg across the rope to take over. A leglock with a hair pull has Adora in more trouble, at least until she makes the rope. Some trash talk lets Adora come back with a German suplex and a powerslam gets two. Athena manages a quick whip into the corner though and the O Face finishes Adora at 7:10.

Rating: C+. Adora continues to feel like someone who has a lot of breakout star potential around here and I could go for seeing her featured a good bit more. That being said, Athena gets to take out someone else, likely on her way to another match with Kiera Hogan for whatever reason. That’s the feud that has been decided on, no matter how much Athena dominated the first match.

Post match Athena attacks her again but here is Kiera Hogan with a trashcan lid for the brawl. Athena takes it away and knocks her down but Hogan takes it back and blasts her (Riccaboni: “Bangin on a trashcan!”). Hogan sets up a table….which Athena spears her through, just in case Hogan started to feel like a viable threat. Athena knocks herself silly too though and both of them have to be helped out.

Mark Briscoe vs. Anthony Henry

JD Drake is here with Henry. Mark slugs away to start and sends Henry outside for the dropkick through the ropes. Back in and the rolling Death Valley Driver hits Henry but a Drake distraction lets him get in a dropkick. A DDT into a double armbar has Mark in trouble but Mark gets up and kicks him in the face.

Henry kicks him right back and we hit the crossarm choke. Back up and Briscoe hits a dropkick of his own, followed by a fisherman’s buster for two. The Jay Driller is blocked and Briscoe pulls him into a dragon sleeper. With that broken up via a handy rope, they chop it out until the Jay Driller finishes for Briscoe at 7:17.

Rating: C+. It seems that they’re building towards another Briscoe title shot, which makes the loss at Supercard of Honor all the more confusing. I get the idea of Mark being built up after adversity but I believe he’s already checked that box this year. For now though, it’s another pretty nice Briscoe match, as the Workhorsemen get in their required appearance.

Tony Khan introduces Stokely Hathaway and praises him for his good job so far. Hathaway pitches a Chicago street fight between Athena and Kiera Hogan next week. Sure.

DKC vs. Daniel Garcia

This is from Dynamite in Colorado Springs, it’s under Pure Rules and DKC is a student of Katsuyori Shibata. Garcia takes him to the mat without much trouble as we see Jerry Lynn sitting in as a judge. Not talking despite being one of the bosses of the show, but he’s here. A loud chop seems to wake up DKC, who is right back with a running hurricanrana. DKC goes up top but gets knocked outside, allowing Garcia to pose a bit.

Back in and Garcia gets two off a suplex, setting up the STF. DKC uses his first rope break, which has Garcia applauding himself. Garcia loads up a charge in the corner but stops to dance, which is apparently a shot at Shibata. DKC hits a middle rope jumping kick to put Garcia down and then fires off a series of chops. A neck crank sends Garcia over to the ropes for the break, allowing him to come back with a Boston crab. With that not working, the Dragontamer finishes DKC at 7:34.

Rating: C+. This was a logical step towards Garcia vs. Shibata, even if that might not be the most thrilling feud. The Pure Rules matches are something different, but they are only so interesting in the first place. Garcia vs. Shibata does feel like something of a feud, but it’s something that could be dropped without missing much.

Post match Garcia sits ala Shibata.

The Mogul Embassy knows they have beaten everyone and they’ll do it again against more weak competition.

Viva Van vs. Skye Blue

Van, who apparently holds five titles right now, grabs a wristlock to start but gets taken down just as quickly. A rolling kick to the face gives Van two but Blue gets in a boot to the face. Blue’s hurricanrana into a Shining Wizard gets two, only to have Van grab a wheelbarrow suplex for the same. Back up and Blue superkicks her, setting up Skyfall for the win at 4:01.

Rating: C. This match is the prime example of something that did not need to be on this show and could have been cut to shave off some time. Blue won a #1 contenders match on Rampage and then lost last night on Dynamite. Did she really need a rebound win 24 hours later? She’s been on six of the last eight Ring Of Honors so it’s not like she’s never around. This was there to add another match to a show for the sake of adding another match to the show and that’s where this show gets really tiresome every week.

Respect is shown post match, which makes sense as Van looked solid.

Six Man Tag Team Titles: Mogul Embassy vs. Action Andretti/Darius Martin/AR Fox

The Embassy, with Prince Nana, is defending. Fox and Cage get things going with Cage running him over with a shoulder. A slingshot splash is pulled out of the air and Fox is sent flying with a fall away slam. Martin comes in to dropkick Cage into a tag to Khan as the pace picks up.

Toa walks on Martin’s back but he’s right up to his feet for a tornado DDT. Andretti gets the tag and is knocked outside for some whips into the apron. Back in and Andretti is fine enough to hit a Canadian Destroyer on Cage. That’s enough for the tag to Fox as the pace picks up again. A springboard missile dropkick hits Cage and a big dive to the floor does it again. Back in and a Swanton gives Fox two, followed by an assisted middle rope cutter for the same.

Everything breaks down and Toa runs over all three challengers at once. Khan hits a fireman’s carry gutbuster on Martin but Fox is back in with a 450. Fox and Andretti kick away at Cage and Andretti hits his torture rack neckbreaker. Khan gets sent to the floor but Cage is back with a discus lariat to Martin. The Cheeky Nandos kick hits Andretti and Weapon X retains the titles at 10:19.

Rating: B. They went with a simple concept here and had every go nuts for the last few minutes. It was a power vs. speed match and that might be the most basic wrestling formula there is. That is the case for a reason as it works well when it is done right, as was on display here. The champs got rocked before coming away with the dramatic win and that made it the best thing on the show.

Overall Rating: C+. I liked it better than last week as it felt like there was a bit more purpose to some of the matches, but on the other hand there was (yet again) a lot of stuff that felt like it was there to pad the run time. There’s little need to have a lot of these people on the show every single week, and now Tony Khan is apparently going to be around to make matches while Hathaway plays a suck up villain and Jerry Lynn doesn’t talk. It’s nice to see them trying something, but a two hour show with a bunch of seven minute matches featuring so many of the same people week after week is only going to be so exciting.

Results
Samoa Joe b. Matt Sydal – MuscleBuster
Nick Comoroto b. Deimos – Alabama Slam
Iron Savages b. Tracy Williams/Rhett Titus – Electric chair splash to Williams
Diamante b. Teal Piper via referee stoppage
Tony Nese b. Serpentico – Running Nese
Miranda Alize b. Notorious Mimi – Drive By
The Righteous/Stu Grayson b. Dalton Castle/The Boys – Triple flipping faceplant to Brent
Athena b. Trish Adora – O Face
Mark Briscoe b. Anthony Henry – Jay Driller
Daniel Garcia b. DKC – Dragontamer
Skye Blue b. Viva Van – Skyfall
Mogul Embassy b. Action Andretti/Darius Martin/AR Fox – Weapon X to Andretti

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: June 8, 2023
Location: Universal Studios, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We’re back to Ring Of Honor and that could mean more than a few things. The show has settled more into a pattern (save for that one nearly three hour outlier) and you can all but guarantee a few matches every week. At the same time, there are a few wildcards that pop up every now and then, and thankfully last week felt like some stories moved forward. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Christopher Daniels vs. Kyle Fletcher

Daniels works on the arm to start and then starts kicking away at the leg. Fletcher cuts off a charge with a slam but Daniels is right back with a running neckbreaker. We hit the neck crank the arm trapped as Daniels is staying on the neck for the most part. Fletcher can’t get a suplex but can send him into the corner for a running forearm.

A belly to back suplex gives Fletcher two, only to have Daniels get a boot up in the corner. The middle rope cutter sets up a Koji Clutch to keep Fletcher in trouble, sending him over to the ropes. There’s the double clothesline to put them both down and it’s Daniels back up with some suplexes. Angel’s Wings is blocked and Fletcher comes back with the spinning Tombstone for the pin at 11:23.

Rating: B. I’m not sure why Fletcher needs to be around so often but he’s looking good in the ring. Putting him in the ring with someone like Daniels is a good idea, as Daniels can still hang in there with just about anyone. They had a good match here as Fletcher’s kind of odd singles push continues.

Matt Sydal vs. Zack Clayton

Cole Karter is here with Clayton. Sydal strikes away and snaps off a hurricanrana, followed by a superkick for two. A standing twisting moonsault gets two on Clayton, who takes Sydal down and hammers away. Sydal scores with another knockdown and the top rope Meteora finishes Clayton at 3:07.

Rating: C. They kept this one moving and Sydal more or less squashed him, as he should with the Television Title in his sights. I have no reason to believe that Sydal is going to beat Samoa Joe as no one has in over a year, but at least they’re making it into a story. Sydal is a talented star and he got to look good here, even over a lower level opponent like Clayton.

Post match Sydal says he wants Samoa Joe and the TV Title.

Dralistico vs. Willie Mack

Dralistico won’t shake hands to start but he will knock Mack to the floor for the big running flip dive. Back in and Dralistico hits a running basement dropkick, followed by a low superkick in the corner. Mack gets up and hits a running Shining Wizard to send Dralistico outside this time, setting up the big running flip dive.

Dralistico kicks him down again back inside, setting up the standing exchange of chops. They trade shots for a double knockdown until Mack is back with the Samoan drop into the standing moonsault for two. Mack’s frog splash hits raised knees though and Dralistico knees him down. Mack gets up again but it’s a Jose the Assistant distraction, allowing Dralistico to get in a low blow. The Incinerator knee finishes for Dralistico at 7:42.

Rating: B-. They were rocking until the ending here with the low blow hurting things a bit. Mack continues to lose most of the time, which doesn’t have me expecting him to do much outside of Ring Of Honor. Dralistico getting a win is nice, but it’s still hard to imagine him as being anything more than Rush’s partner.

Here is Tony Khan to announce that Matt Sydal will face Samoa Joe for the TV Title next week. As for this week, we will now have a Board Of Directors (who he makes clear will answer to him): Stokely Hathaway and Jerry Lynn. They’re all going to have a good time! They’re not actually doing anything here, but it’ll be fun when they actually do!

NJPW Strong Women’s Title: Willow Nightingale vs. Rachael Ellering

Nightingale is defending and wastes no time in rolling some suplexes. Ellering comes back with a running forearm as commentary talks about how they would love to have Chris Hero around here. An enziguri gets Nightingale out of trouble and she hits a string of clotheslines. The Pounce sets up the Cannonball for two, with Ellering reversing the cover into a crucifix for the same. Nightingale has had it with her and hits a spinebuster into a camel clutch to retain at 6:46.

Rating: C. Nightingale continues to mix things up and adding in another good power move makes sense. You don’t see many women like her and not only is she incredibly charismatic, but she can have quality matches to back it up. Ellering is someone who can work well with anyone and I could go for having her around more often.

Embassy vs. Cheeseburger/Marcus Kross/Eli Isom

Non-title Proving Ground match, meaning if Cheeseburger and company win or survive the ten minute time limit, they get a title shot. Isom avoids a charging Cage to start and slips out of a Drill Claw as well. A superkick drops Isom though and it’s Toa coming in for some shoulders in the corner. Another missed charge allows the tag to Cheeseburger, who is tossed from Toa to Kaun. Cheeseburger manages to bring in Kross as everything breaks down. The Embassy gets to run everyone over and a toss powerbomb finishes Kross at 5:01.

Rating: C-. You know how the Embassy has run a bunch of trios over and rarely felt like they were in any trouble? This was the most recent of those matches. The Embassy has no serious challengers and they’re just being fed various three man combinations to keep them on the show. Not much to see here, as usual.

Mercedes Martinez vs. Vertvixen

Vixen hits a dropkick to start but walks into a big boot. Martinez grabs a seated abdominal stretch, followed by a Saito suplex. Vixen is back with a rolling Stunner into a Blue Thunder Bomb for two. Back up and Martinez grabs a swinging suplex out of the corner for two more, followed by a forearm to the back of the head. The Brass City Sleeper finishes Vixen at 4:18.

Rating: C. It’s nice to have Martinez back and she ran over Vertvixen here. It was just a step above a squash as Vixen barely got anything in, but at least they finished it quickly instead of dragging it out. I could see Martinez getting back into the title hunt, as it isn’t like there are many serious challengers around at the moment.

Griff Garrison vs. Lee Moriarty

This is Garrison’s first match since October. Moriarty gets sent into the corner to start and Garrison boots him in the face for a bonus. That earns him an arm snap across the top and Moriarty starts stomping away. The arm is sent into the corner as commentary starts talking about the Jericho Appreciation Society. Garrison hits a clothesline out of the corner and a discus forearm gets two. Moriarty rakes him in the eyes though and grabs a rollup for the pin at 4:06.

Rating: C. So remember when Garrison was a decent looking guy in a low level tag team? Well here he was a decent looking guy in a low level singles match. It’s cool to have him back and I’m glad he’s healthy, but this wasn’t some big, epic comeback. It wasn’t a squash, but it’s a bit difficult to get excited about Moriarty, who has been a jobber to the stars for weeks in AEW, getting a win here.

Robyn Renegade vs. Kiera Hogan

Hogan takes her down to start and hits a springboard legdrop for two. Renegade avoids a charge though and chokes in the corner, followed by the forearms on the mat. We hit the armbar for a bit before they trade chops in the corner. Hogan stomps her down in another corner but here is Charlotte Renegade for the failed Twin Magic. Not that it matters as Hogan hits a superkick for the pin at 4:34.

Rating: C. The parade of “eh, that was fine” matches continues as Hogan has to be built up again for a likely rematch with Athena. I still think there is something with the Renegades, but they’re cannon fodder for Hogan here and that is not exactly the best place to be. Let them try something, because they’re being wasted in spots like this one.

Post match Athena comes in to kendo stick Hogan, who takes it away and unloads on Athena instead.

Dark Order vs. Shane Taylor/Workhorsemen

They start the brawl during the Code Of Honor and it’s Silver kicking away at the much bigger Taylor to get things going. Reynolds comes in to slug away but Henry trips him down on the floor. It’s off to Henry to pound on Reynolds before Drake adds a belly to belly. A Cannonball connects in the corner and Henry comes back in for a chinlock.

Reynolds fights up and gets over to Uno for the tag to pick up the pace. We get the long awaited Taylor vs. Uno showdown as everything breaks down. Drake gets caught in the series of strikes from Reynolds and Silver, setting up the Stunner into the German suplex to finish Drake at 7:21.

Rating: C. I’m still not sure I get what is impressive about the Dark Order but they are around on a pretty regular basis. Beating Taylor and the Workhorsemen at least gives them a boost, but there’s just not much interesting about either group. The stuff with Stu Grayson was at least a story, but other than that, I’m not sure why they’re around so often. Allegedly they get big reactions from the fans, though that didn’t seem to be the case here.

The Righteous and Stu Grayson aren’t impressed by the Dark Order, but want them to be more aggressive. Tune in next week.

Darius Martin/Action Andretti/AR Fox vs. Trustbusters

Fox and Slim J start things off, which Riccaboni calls a “dream match for me”. Riccaboni needs to work on his dream matches. They trade flips to start until Fox gets two off a spinning suplex. Kay comes in and gets caught in the corner for some rapid fire running shots to the chest. Andretti’s shotgun dropkick sets up a missed split legged moonsault and it’s Kiss coming in to hammer away.

Kiss’ gorilla press into a standing moonsault gets two on Andretti and a splits splash is good for the same. Andretti fights up and brings in Martin for a pumphandle facebuster to Kay but an assisted Sliced Bread takes him down. Fox is back with a series of cutters and it’s back to Andretti. Something like a double swinging powerbomb finishes Kay at 6:02.

Rating: C+. They kept the pace up here and Kiss’ gorilla press was rather impressive. Andretti is much better suited in a role like this than as a singles star and he did his thing rather well in this one. The Trustbusters are still about as uninteresting as you can get, but at least they’re being relegated to jobbing status most of the time.

The Kingdom vs. El Cobarde/El Dragon

Maria is here with the Kingdom. Taven knees Cobarde in the ribs but gets dropkicked for his efforts. It’s off to Dragon for a bunch of flips as Bennett comes in to say “hit me like a man.” Not a dragon mind you, but a man. One of those shows busts Bennett open so he knocks Cobarde off the apron to blow off some steam. Everything breaks down fast and the Kingdom gets taken down by running flip dives. Purple Thunder gets two on Dragon but Aurora Borealis misses. Everything breaks down again though and it’s Just The Tip into the Proton Pack to finish Cobarde at 5:28.

Rating: C+. Cobarde and Dragon looked good int heir debuts here and that’s a nice thing to see as there is always room for a high flying lucha team. As usual with their almost weekly win, the Kingdom should be in the title hunt but instead they’re just kind of here, winning a match and staying on their treadmill. I’m still not sure why they’re not given a bigger spot, but I’m sure another midcard AEW team can get the title shot instead.

Here are Tony Khan, Jerry Lynn and Stokely Hathaway, with Khan again announcing that “this is great”. Hathaway apparently wants mass layoffs but also wants Action Andretti vs. the entire Embassy. Khan instead says Andretti/Fox/Martin vs. the Embassy for the Six Man Tag Team Titles. OF COURSE that’s what Hathaway wanted. Khan talks about how great a star Bandido is….but he’s not here tonight! Instead, here’s his brother! Jerry Lynn didn’t say a word during his appearance.

Rey Fenix vs. Gravity

They grapple into a rollup exchange for two each until Gravity runs in slow motion (because gravity you see). Fenix reverses a sunset flip into an ankle lock and Gravity certainly appears to tap but it doesn’t matter. Gravity reverses a suplex into a small package for two before sending Fenix outside for a springboard dive.

Back in and a standing moonsault gives Gravity two, followed by a torture rack Samoan driver for two. Fenix spins him into a faceplant for two of his own but Gravity muscles him up into a powerbomb for the same. Gravity misses a top rope splash and gets kicked down for another near fall. One heck of a crucifix bomb gives Gravity two more but Fenix is back with a cutter. The Black Fire Driver finishes Gravity at 10:40.

Rating: B. Take two guys, let them fly around for about ten minutes and blow the fans’ minds with some insane stuff. Fenix specializes in just such a style and he was on fire here. Gravity had some good stuff as well, but it doesn’t help to have your introduction be “well this star isn’t here but here is his brother instead!”. I will take the “Rey Fenix is better than gravity” joke though.

Overall Rating: C. The opener and main event helped but I was rather bored by a good chunk of the middle. It isn’t that the matches were bad (they were mostly good to acceptable on the bad end) but it was the same thing you see almost every week around here: a bunch of people with nothing going on, winning a match with the vague possibility of moving up the ladder for a possible title shot down the line. Almost nothing in the middle of this show stood out and it was almost mind numbing to watch the same middle of the road stuff throughout.

They desperately need to trim this down, though I’d be stunned if they actually did. As long as these shows are taped at Universal, there is nothing that is going to make them slow down, as they can more or less tape as much as they want and then air it all at once. For the life of me I have no idea how this is supposed to be the best thing they can put out there, but it’s not exactly thrilling, or even interesting, most of the time.

Results
Kyle Fletcher b. Christopher Daniels – Spinning Tombstone
Matt Sydal b. Zack Clayton – Top rope Meteora
Dralistico b. Willie Mack – Incinerator
Willow Nightingale b. Rachael Ellering – Camel clutch
The Embassy b. Cheeseburger/Marcus Kross/Eli Isom – Toss powerbomb to Kross
Mercedes Martinez b. Vertvixen – Brass City Sleeper
Lee Moriarty b. Griff Garrison – Rollup
Kiera Hogan b. Robyn Renegade – Superkick
Dark Order b. Shane Taylor/Workhorsemen – German suplex to Drake
Action Andretti/Darius Martin/AR Fox b. Trustbusters – Double swinging powerbomb to Kay
The Kingdom b. El Cobarde/El Dragon – Proton Pack to Dragon
Rey Fenix b. Gravity – Black Fire Driver

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Ring Of Honor
Date: May 25, 2023
Location: Universal Studios, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman, Nigel McGuinness

It’s Double Or Nothing week but Ring Of Honor still doesn’t have a major show of its own to build towards. I would assume that we might be seeing something like that being announced in the next few weeks, but for now we’ll have to settle for this show producing acts like Metalik/AR Fox/Blake Christian to be fed to the House Of Black on Dynamite. Let’s get to it.

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

By the way: this show sets new records at 2:56:30 and 19 matches.

JD Drake vs. Mark Briscoe

Anthony Henry is here with Drake. Briscoe sticks his chest out for the chop so Drake does the same, meaning the chops abound. A boot to the chest rocks Drake and Briscoe sends him outside. That means a dive to take out Henry and Drake at the same time but Drake is back in with more chops. A spinebuster gives Drake two more and a Boss Man Slam is good for the same.

Briscoe knocks him off the top though and a missile dropkick puts Drake down. Drake is willing to let Briscoe chop him, but Briscoe grabs a swinging Rock Bottom for two instead. Henry’s distraction breaks up the Jay Driller and Drake hits his moonsault for two more. For some reason Henry tries his own Jay Driller, which is reversed into a Death valley Driver. The Froggy Bow finishes for Briscoe at 9:24.

Rating: C. Drake continues to move well for a big guy but he was outmatched here against Briscoe. That’s part of the problem with Briscoe at the moment as he doesn’t want to be in a team (fair) but he’s a big enough star that he needs to win something. The TV Title was done at Supercard Of Honor and the World Title is mainly stuck on Proving Ground matches, so instead Briscoe just kind of floats, in this case as a guest referee on the main show.

Respect is shown post match and Briscoe says he wants the TV Title. I could go for a rematch, but Briscoe needs to actually win the thing.

Christopher Daniels wants Matt Sydal to get a TV Title and they’ll start the path tonight.

Claudio Castagnoli vs. Serpentico

Non-title Proving Ground match, meaning that if Serpentico wins or lasts the ten minute time limit, he gets a future title shot. Castagnoli shoves him down to start as commentary talks about what kind of dog these two would be. Serpentico grabs his Castagnoli’s hands for a test of strength but gets sent flying off a suplex. A rollup gives Serpentico two and Castagnoli is sent to the floor for a big flip dive. Castagnoli sends him into the steps and hits about ten straight clotheslines back inside. A big clothesline finishes Serpentico at 3:39.

Rating: C-. Pretty much a squash here as there was no reason to believe that perennial jobber Serpentico was going to be a threat to Castagnoli. We’re currently waiting to see who is next for a title shot and the pickings are fairly slim at the moment. Maybe someone steps up soon, but for now, we might be stuck with little more than this from the champ.

Vertvixen vs. Kiera Hogan

Vertvixen grabs a headlock to start, followed by a running dropkick. Hogan fights up with a kick of her own as Athena comes out to watch. A Downward Spiral into a Koji Clutch has Hogan in trouble but she sends Vertvixen face first into the buckle for two. Vertvixen is back with a Blue Thunder Bomb for two but Hogan grabs a Saito suplex for the pin at 4:59.

Rating: C. Hogan wasn’t a serious threat to Jade Cargill in AEW and she isn’t going to be a threat to Athena anytime soon. Athena has been great in her role but she needs a much stronger challenger than she has been getting recently. Skye Blue worked as she has at least done something, but Hogan beating Vertvixen in about five minutes isn’t going to make her a viable challenger.

Post match Athena shoves Hogan, who trips over Vertvixen, just to make her look even more like a goof.

Kyle Fletcher vs. AR Fox

Fletcher takes him down to start without much trouble and then circles the standing Fox a few times. Some hard shots put Fox down and Fletcher gets to stomp away but Fox blocks a suplex attempt. Instead it’s a suplex to drop Fletcher for a change, setting up the rolling cutter for two.

Another jumping cutter is countered into a dragon suplex but Fox kicks him in the face. Fletcher gets kicked to the floor for a big flip dive from the top, followed by a 450 for two back inside. They both go up top where Fletcher snaps off a super Falcon Arrow. The spinning Tombstone finishes for Fletcher at 10:12.

Rating: B-. I’m kind of amazed that it only took one drop on the head to finish Fox but my goodness that’s a nice change of pace from the usual amount of kickouts you see from similar moves. Fletcher is getting a nice singles run while Mark Davis is hurt but it’s hard to imagine it lasting when the team is ready to go again. Fox can have an exciting match against anyone and thankfully that one ridiculous match a few weeks ago was an anomaly.

Willow Nightingale vs. Hyan

Nightingale runs her over and poses a bit before grabbing something like a reverse Koji Clutch. Hyan gets in a few shots in the corner but Nightingale hits a running shoulder. The middle rope dropkick sets up a cannonball, followed by the Babe With The Powerbomb to finish Hyan at 4:14.

Rating: C. Nightingale could drop a box of puppies into a woodchipper and find a way to make it charming. You don’t see that kind of delightfulness very often and it is infectious every time she is out there. There is no such thing as too much Nightingale and I could go for her moving up the ladder rather soon.

The Kingdom vs. Willie Mack/Ninja Mack

Maria Kanellis-Bennett is here with the Kingdom. Willie hiptosses and armdrags Taven to start but Bennett comes in to take over. Taven is right back in with a middle rope dropkick but Willie clotheslines his way to freedom. Ninja comes in and reverses Taven’s suplex attempt to keep the pace up. A superkick rocks Taven but Bennett grabs a suplex to take over.

Taven’s frog splash gives Bennett two, only to have Ninja slip away and make the tag to Willie for the house cleaning. House is quickly cleaned, including the Samoan drop to Taven. The standing moonsault gives Willie two and Ninja hits a double backflip into a moonsault onto both of them at ringside. Back in and something like a 3D hits Taven but Bennett forearms Willie. The Proton Pack finishes Ninja at 7:44.

Rating: C+. Well, there’s your debut of the hot new team, as the Kingdom rightfully beats them. I’m not sure why Mack and Mack needed to lose in their first match together but at least it was a decent one. The Kingdom continues to be a team who could and probably should be higher up on the card, but here they are for the time being.

Dream Girl Ellie vs. Mercedes Martinez

Martinez runs her over to start and hammers away on the mat. A big boot drops Ellie again and some hard knees to the face make it worse. The surfboard dragon sleeper finishes Ellie at 2:59.

Willie Mack and Ninja Mack aren’t done.

Ashley D’Amboise vs. Danielle Kamela

They fight over wrist control to start until Kamela takes her into the corner for the stomping. D’Amboise gets tied in the ropes for some kicks to the back, followed by the chinlock. That’s broken up and D’Amboise hits a running flipping neckbreaker for two. Kamela is back with a faceplant, only to have D’Amboise hit a reverse AA for two more. A Rock Bottom finishes Kamela at 5:08.

Rating: C. Kamela definitely felt polished and it isn’t surprising that she had a stint in NXT before (as Vanessa Borne). If she can go at this pace and improve beyond that, she could absolutely be something in the future. Other than that, D’Amboise feels like someone with potential, and keeping her around makes sense.

Rocky Romero vs. Titus Alexander

Alexander elbows him in the face and hits a sliding dropkick, setting up a quick dance. Back up and Romero hits some Forever Lariats, only to walk into another dropkick. Romero is right back with a springboard tornado DDT before a missed charge sends Alexander outside. A standing Sliced Bread gets two on Alexander back inside but he grabs a brainbuster for two of his own. Romero has had it with him and puts on a cross armbreaker for the tap at 4:17.

Rating: C+. Alexander was bringing it here and did get to showcase some nice cocky heel stuff. Romero can wrestle a smooth match with anyone and got in some stuff to make both of them look good here. If this was a tryout for Alexander, he might have done well enough to stick around for a bit so nice work.

The Righteous/Stu Grayson vs. Marcus Kross/Vary Morales/LSG

Morales has to spin/roll away from Grayson to start before it’s off to Kross. Grayson throws him into the corner and brings Dutch in to power Kross around a bit more. Vincent’s basement Downward Spiral has him rather pleased but LSG comes in for a springboard forearm. Cue the Dark Order to worry about Grayson as Dutch’s swinging Boss Man Slam cuts Morales in half. Knightfall finishes Kross at 4:09.

Rating: C. Well at least they’re doing something with Grayson and the Righteous after so many weeks of just having them stare at each other. Granted we’re still not sure what is going on, but I’ll take this over the Dark Order running around without really doing anything. The Righteous are a decent team and could be in the title hunt if given the chance, but they get to work with the Dark Order instead.

The Dark Order and the Righteous yell at each other as Grayson is left in the ring.

Zack Sabre Jr. and Samoa Joe are ready for their tag match, with Sabre wanting to show that his TV Title is the one that matters most.

Shane Taylor vs. Tracy Williams

Shane Taylor has the Workhorsemen (Anthony Henry/JD Drake) with him while Williams has Rhett Titus. Taylor powers him around to start and unloads in the corner, only to get armbarred over the top. Back in and a side slam plants Williams but he’s right back with a middle rope DDT. A frog splash gives Williams two but Taylor gives him a release Rock Bottom. The big splash gets two and the package piledriver finishes Williams at 5:12.

Rating: C. Taylor continues to be a wrecking ball who runs through everyone in front of him (save for Mark Briscoe) and that could be used in a bigger spot later. Williams is still someone who can wrestle with anyone, but if he keeps losing over and over, I’m not sure how much good that is going to do. For now though, this was another perfectly fine match.

Athena vs. Promise Braxton

Non-title Proving Ground match. Athena takes her down and hits a shoulder, meaning it’s time to dance. Back up and Braxton snaps off an armdrag but Athena kicks her in the face. Athena’s release front suplex gets two more but Braxton gets in a shot of her own. That’s enough for Athena, who forearms the heck out of her and grabs a cobra sleeper for the win at 5:58.

Rating: C-. Of all the times where Athena has beaten up someone with no chance of beating her in a Proving Ground match, this was the most recent. It’s fun to see, but we’ve seen this so many times now that it is starting to lose its charm. She doesn’t need to be around every week, and having Kiera Hogan as the next victim isn’t going to make things much better.

Post match Athena stays on her but Kiera Hogan makes the save.

Dralistico vs. Tony Deppen

Deppen dropkicks him to the floor to start and hits the big flip dive through the ropes. Dralistico whips Deppen into various things, setting up a springboard Swanton back inside. A kick to the face lets Dralistico pose on the top rope but he misses a charge, allowing Deppen to hit a springboard flipping dive to the floor. Back in and Deppen lets Dralistico chop away until they trade knees to the face. A poisonrana plants Deppen but Dralistico can’t follow up. Dralistico cuts off a springboard and hits a springboard hurricanrana. That and a Fujiwara armbar finish Deppen at 6:32.

Rating: C+. Deppen is one of the better jobbers to the stars around here and he made Dralistico look good here. At the same time, Dralistico hasn’t exactly done anything on his own in ROH or AEW. He has talent, but there isn’t much about him that makes him stand out. Granted not being around Rush so often should help him a bit, and he looked good here.

Nick Comoroto, in his sweet hat, is ready to face Blake Christian, who looks like everyone else.

Miranda Alize vs. Skye Blue

Blue snaps off a hurricanrana to the floor and the chase is on, with Alize catching her with a DDT back inside. Alize kicks her in the head in the corner and a double underhook DDT gets two. A kick to the back of the head gives Blue one but Alize pulls her into the Miranda Rights. With that broken up, Alize misses a charge in the corner and gets rolled up for the pin at 3:59.

Rating: C. This was a match where they didn’t have the time to do much, which is a shame given who was involved. These two could have a good match if they are given the chance but not even making it to four minutes isn’t going to let that work. Alize has done well in her time around ROH and Blue has shown her talents multiple times. Just give them more time.

Athena yells a lot and seems to want to hurt Kiera Hogan.

Cole Karter/Zack Clayton vs. Action Andretti/Darius Martin

Andretti flips over Clayton to start and sends him into the corner before hitting a nice dropkick. Martin comes in and gets his head taken off with a clothesline. It’s already back to Andretti, who kicks Karter down. Back up and Karter is able to shove Andretti off the ropes and out to the floor in a crash. They get back in and Andretti kicks his way out of trouble, allowing the tag back to Martin. House is cleaned until Clayton grabs a powerslam, setting up a frog splash to give Karter two. Back in and Andretti/Martin hit a double pendulum slam to finish Karter at 4:48.

Rating: C+. Another decent match here as Andretti and Martin continue to look like a nice young, high flying team. Granted it doesn’t matter much until Dante gets back, though commentary might have had a good idea of Top Flight and Andretti as a trio. Until then though, I can settle for them doing something like this a few more times.

Blake Christian vs. Nick Comoroto

Comoroto throws a toothpick at him to start so Christian kicks him in the head. The chase is on around the ring and it works so well that they do it again. Christian manages to get back inside and hit a big flip dive to drop Comoroto for the first time. Back up and Comoroto posts him hard to take over, only to miss a charge into the buckle. Christian knocks him to the floor for the dive, followed by a top rope double stomp to the back on the apron. Comoroto hits a fireman’s carry slam for two so Christian….throws a chair across the ring. As Comoroto goes to get it, Christian rolls him up for the pin at 6:31.

Rating: C+. I still see potential in Comoroto, just due to how different he looks and how he has the power and charisma (the hair helps too). Christian continues to be good, but I don’t know if there is really anything he does that makes him stand out. The skill is there, but he’s going to need something more than that to move up to the next level.

Diamante vs. Trish Adora

Adora goes straight to a Kimura to start but has to deal with a headscissors attempt. A neckbreaker drops Adora and a baseball slide sends her to the floor. Back in and Diamante hits a basement dropkick in the corner but Adora punches her into the corner. Diamante neckbreakers her again and puts on an armbar for the tap at 4:47.

Rating: C. Diamante has always shown a lot of fire in her appearances and it was good to see it again. Adora is someone I’ve seen do some impressive things on the independent circuit but she didn’t have the chance to showcase it here. Both of these two are worth some time, but they are a long way from being big deals around here.

Alex Coughlin wants Katsuyori Shibata for the Pure Title next week.

Penta El Zero Miedo vs. Slim J

The Trustbusters are here with Slim J, who breaks up CERO MIEDO to start. Penta superkicks him to the floor but a suicide dive is cut off with a forearm. Back in and we hit the chinlock but Penta pops up for the Sling Blades. The Fear Factor is countered into a swinging cutter, only to have Penta kick him down in the corner. That means the Alberto double stomp but Slim J hits a wheelbarrow Downward Spiral for two. Penta has had it with him though and punches Slim J out of the air, setting up the Fear Factor for the pin at 4:43.

Rating: B-. I could have gone for more of this as Penta can still do his thing well when his brother isn’t around. He is someone who feels like a big deal and that isn’t something you can teach. On the other hand you have Slim J, who is kind of hard to take seriously but he can go in the ring if he is given the chance.

Zack Sabre Jr./Samoa Joe vs. Christopher Daniels/Matt Sydal

Sabre and Sydal start things off with Sabre taking him down by the arms. Sydal spins up and kicks him into the corner, meaning it’s off to Joe vs. Daniels for a flashback. That doesn’t last long as Sabre comes back in and is quickly double teamed down. Joe comes back in to kick Daniels in the corner as commentary wonders about who gets a TV Title shot if Daniels gets the pin.

The armbar goes on to keep Daniels in trouble before Joe cranks on a wristlock. Sabre tags himself in and doesn’t seem happy with Joe, so it’s right back to Joe for a neck crank. The snap powerslam gives Joe two but Daniels fights up and gets away. The tag brings in Sydal to clean house, at least until a neckbreaker cuts him off. Sabre grabs a single underhook suplex but Sydal pulls him into a crossface.

Daniels gets the Koji Clutch on Joe at the same time, leaving Joe’s eyes rolling back in his head. Sabre makes the rope and saves Joe, who is able to break the Angel’s Wings. Sabre takes Sydal down and twists his neck, only to walk into Angel’s Wings to send him outside. Back up and Daniels charges into a Rock Bottom out of the corner, setting up a Koquina Clutch to give Joe the win at 15:17.

Rating: B. Match of the night here and the extra time, plus the talent involved, would seem to be why. I’m curious to see what is next for these guys, as Joe vs. Sabre would be a showdown, but Daniels vs. Sydal seems like a possibility as well. Either one would work, and this was a good example of a rather nice TV main event.

Joe and Sabre show respect to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. What do you want me to say here? It was nineteen matches over about three hours. There was some good stuff in there but when you’re nine matches in and not even halfway done, it’s a little hard to stay interested. There were a bunch of women’s matches and the division certainly has talent, but most of the matches were four to five minutes long and no one really stood out in a big way. The same is true with the men’s matches, leaving me wondering why this show was put together this way.

That’s what I really don’t get here: how is a show running this long with this much content supposed to be the best possible option. Who was putting this show together, got to twelve matches, and thought they needed seven more? This was long for the sake of being long and it didn’t work out very well, just due to how much was there and very little getting the chance to stand out in any significant way.

Results
Mark Briscoe b. Anthony Henry – Froggy Bow
Claudio Castagnoli b. Serpentico – Clothesline
Kiera Hogan b. Vertvixen – Saito suplex
Kyle Fletcher b. AR Fox – Spinning Tombstone
Willow Nightingale b. Hyan – Babe With The Powerbomb
The Kingdom b. Ninja Mack/Willie Mack – Proton Pack to Ninja
Mercedes Martinez b. Dream Girl Ellie – Surfboard dragon sleeper
Ashley D’Amboise b. Danielle Kamela – Rock Bottom
Rocky Romero b. Titus Alexander – Cross armbreaker
The Righteous/Stu Grayson b. Vary Morales/Marcus Kross/LSG – Knightfall to Kross
Shane Taylor b. Tracy Williams – Package piledriver
Athena b. Promise Braxton – Cobra sleeper
Dralistico b. Tony Deppen – Fujiwara armbar
Skye Blue b. Miranda Alize – Rollup
Action Andretti/Darius Martin b. Cole Karter/Zack Clayton – Double slam to Karter
Blake Christian b. Nick Comoroto – Rollup
Diamante b. Trish Adora – Armbar
Penta El Zero Miedo b. Slim J – Fear Factor
Samoa Joe/Zack Sabre Jr. b. Christopher Daniels/Matt Sydal – Koquina Clutch to Daniels

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