Ring Of Honor – April 10, 2026 (Special Episode): As Advertised (Includes Full Show)

Ring Of Honor
Date: April 10, 2026
Location: WJCT Studios, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

It’s an AEW PPV week so that means we get a bonus Ring Of Honor. I’m guessing the theory is to get the wrestling happy people on the Ring Of Honor bandwagon but the show was barely mentioned on this week’s Ring Of Honor show, with no mention on AEW TV. In other words, expect the equivalent of the deleted scenes from a TV taping. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

MxM Collection vs. Top Flight

Mansoor and Darius start things off with Mansoor stopping to pose but Darius bends the finger back. Dante comes in with a top rope ax handle to the arm so Mansoor bails into the ropes. That lets Madden come in from behind with a leg lariat and a side slam/legdrop combination gets two on Dante.

Madden crushes Mansoor in the corner though and it’s off to Dante to start the comeback. Everything breaks down and Darius gets caught in a sitout powerbomb/leg lariat combination for a rather near fall. Mansoor gets crotched on top though and it’s a hurricanrana into a sitout powerbomb to give Darius two. Darius suicide dives onto Madden and Mansoor is slingshotted into a cutter for the pin at 6:01.

Rating: C+. While it might not have been the exact same match, this feels like the kind of match that we have seen several times now. They’re both entertaining teams, but neither of them are going anywhere. The Tag Team Titles aren’t defended very often and it’s not like the champions even appear very often. In other words, nice match, not going to mean anything.

Rush vs. Dante Leon

Rush knocks him to the floor and then takes him back inside for the forearms in the corner. The Bull’s Horns finishes Leon at 1:12.

The IInspiration are ready to face anyone around here.

Hyan/Maya World vs. IInspiration

World has to duck out of a right hand out of the corner to start but Lee drives her right back into another corner. Hyan comes in for a hurricanrana out of the corner and a bridging suplex puts Lee down for two. Lee makes a blind tag though and hits a knee to the face to put Hyan in trouble for a change.

The IInspiration gets in some posing before talking some trash, followed by an armbar to keep Hyan down. The chinlock doesn’t last long and Hyan comes out of the corner with a running clothesline. World splashes both of them in the corner and a moonsault gets two on McKay. A posting puts McKay down on the floor and a double chickenwing faceplant/Downward Spiral combination finishes Lee at 6:55.

Rating: C. Well, they were undefeated for about a day. I’m not sure what the point was in having the team win a match on one episode of Ring Of Honor and then lose the next night. It isn’t like there are many teams who matter much in Ring Of Honor and the IInspiration lose that soon? Hyan and World are established enough and don’t gain much here so…why?

Gates Of Agony vs. Daisuke Sasaki/Paul Virk

Sasaki is a big deal in DDT. Kaun leapfrogs Sasaki to start and chops him into the corner before handing it off to Liona. Sasaki gets pulled out of the air and driven into the corner, only to get over for the tag to (the rather tall) Virk. That means a mini hoss fight with Liona, who eventually drops Virk with a spinebuster. Open The Gates finishes Virk at 3:10.

Rating: C. Sasaki might not be the biggest star in the world but he felt way out of place as a jobber in a tag match. Other than that, this was a reminder that the big power team are till a big power team. That’s pretty much what you’ve seen from the Gates for years now and that doesn’t seem likely to change.

Sisters Of Sin vs. Nixi XS/Aminah Belmont

XS and Hart knock the other two off the apron to start and it’s off to those other two rather quickly. XS is knocked off the apron this time and Belmont gets caught in the Tarantula, allowing Blue to hit a running dropkick. A snapmare into a PK gets two on Belmont but she fights out of the corner. There’s no XS to tag though and a Black Widow makes Belmont tap at 3:42.

Rating: C. The string of fairly run of the mill tag matches continues, albeit with a team who aren’t regulars around here. The Sisters are fine enough in their role, but there isn’t exactly anything for them to do around here. The match was little more than a squash, though at least Belmont got in a bit of offense to keep it from getting dull.

Dalton Castle/Outrunners vs. Deonn Rusman/Devo Knight/Alex Findley

Castle is rather excited for the new ROH figures and wants them in your guest bathroom. Magnum headlocks Knight to start and it’s off to Floyd to work on the arm. A spinning belly to back suplex drops Knight and his partners both get chopped. Castle comes in for the suplexes and the Mega Powers Elbow finish Findley at 3:42.

Rating: C. Cool, now give them a title shot. I’m not sure what else is next for the Outrunners/Castle, but the only logical step is a title shot. They’ve won all kinds of regular matches in a row, they’re popular and they’re…not likely to face the champions, because the titles have been defended once since December so we just get to keep waiting, as always.

Dralistico vs. Komander

Dralistico is wrestling in a shirt, which is apparently rather disrespectful in lucha libre. They trade some early rollups for two each but Dralistico tells him to stop running. Komander does for some reason, allowing Dralistico to remove his shirt. Dralistico takes him down and hits a running knee to the face, followed by a running shot in the corner. Komander fights up and chops away, followed by a DDT for two.

Dralistico avoids a 450 but gets rolled up for two more instead. A gutbuster hits Dralistico but he pops back up to kick Komander down. That doesn’t last long as Komander knocks him off the top and hits a super crucifix bomb for two. A poisonrana into Cielito Lindo finishes Dralistico at 9:29.

Rating: B-. This was the kind of match you would have expected from the two of them and, while it doesn’t have the best competition, it did feel like the biggest match of the show. They had their high flying stuff and it worked pretty well, which shouldn’t be a surprise. Granted it’s the second Komander vs. a high flier match I’ve seen in two days but at least it was good.

Overall Rating: C. Yep this was exactly what I was expecting the second I saw this show being announced. Ring Of Honor turns these shows into big ads for the weekly show and that’s exactly what what it felt like: a bunch of mostly mediocre matches which don’t feel like they have any impact on the ongoing stories. If you like Ring Of Honor, you’ll like this, but after three plus hours of the same style in two days, I could go for a break from this stuff.

Results
Top Flight b. MxM Collection – Slingshot cutter to Mansoor
Rush b. Dante Leon – Bull’s Horns
Hyan/Maya World b. IInspiration – Double chickenwing faceplant/Downward Spiral combination to Lee
Gates Of Agony b. Daisuke Sasaki/Paul Virk – Open The Gates to Virk
Sisters Of Sin b. Nixi XS/Aminah Belmont – Black Widow to Belmont
Dalton Castle/Outrunners b. Deonn Rusman/Devo Knight/Alex Findley – Mega Powers Elbow to Findley
Komander b. Dralistico – Cielito Lindo

 

 

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Ring Of Honor – March 26, 2026: All Over The Place

Ring Of Honor
Date: March 26, 2026
Location: WJCT Television, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We still don’t have a major show coming up at the moment, though odds are we have some fresh title matches this week anyway. As usual, it’s hard to tell what that means and we could be in for a bunch of random stuff this week. Well in addition to the usual bunch of random stuff. Let’s get to it.

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

Lacey Lane won a match a few weeks ago and it gets her a title shot…against CMLL Women’s Champion Persephone. You won’t want to miss this, so if you’re having a sandwich, hurry up and if you’re in bed with your partner, wrap it up already.

Persephone is from El Paso, Texas but she was raised in Mexico so she has a double nationality to bring to her fight. These interviews are a good idea, though another title of any kind around here makes my head hurt.

CMLL Women’s Title: Lacey Lane vs. Persephone

Lane is challenging after “going on a bit of a run here in ROH”. She’s 1-2 in ROH. Lane rolls her up for an early two so Persephone grabs a backslide and flips over her for the same. An armdrag sends Persephone outside, where she catches a kick and drops Lane face first onto the apron. Back in and Persephone starts in on the leg, followed by a headstand double knee to the ribs for two.

The chinlock goes on (Persephone: “ASK HER!”) but Lane gets out and sweeps the leg. A bridging suplex gives Persephone two and she knees Lane down, setting up an armbar. Back up and Lane rolls her into a basement superkick and they’re both down. A springboard spinning basement dropkick drops Persephone again but she’s back with a German suplex for two. The Razor’s Edge is broken up and Lane hits a reverse Nightmare On Helm Street. Persephone is back with a spear though and the Razor’s Edge retains the title at 9:28.

Rating: B-. Persephone does feel like a star, though it might have helped a bit more if Lane had won anything more than one match. They really need to find a better way to build up challengers around here, which is something that seems to be rather easy. Instead, we just seem to get random title shots, which doesn’t make for the most thrilling setups.

Quick video on the Grizzled Young Veterans/Isla Dawn vs. Skyflight.

Skyflight vs. Grizzled Young Veterans/Isla Dawn

That would be Zayda Steel/Top Flight. Drake and Darius start things off with a fight over arm control until Drake takes him down by the hair. Darius sends him into the corner but Gibson saves Drake from a suplex. Dante comes in for a springboard double clothesline and it’s back to Darius as everything breaks down.

Steel is sent into Darius in the corner and Dawn comes in for the rather aggressive lockup. Dawn gets snapmared down for a basement dropkick so she comes back with a hard backdrop driver. A knee to the head gets two on Steel and Dawn grabs a cobra clutch. Steel breaks out though and brings in Dante to clean house.

An enziguri and springboard high crossbody get two on Drake but Dawn cuts off a double dive from Top Flight. Steel punches her in the face and Darius rolls Drake up for two, with the kickout sending him into a forearm from Gibson. Drake’s rollup with tights gets two and Darius enziguris his way out of trouble. The women come in for a near hockey fight and Steel grabs a rolling kick to the head for the pin at 10:28.

Rating: B-. It’s nice to see Steel getting a win, as she’s been getting better over the last few weeks. Granted pinning Dawn only means so much, though I was starting to worry that Skyflight would lose again. Skyflight isn’t going to mean anything going forward, but I’ll take a one off win where I can get it.

We look at Bandido/Adam Priest/Tommy Billington chasing off the Lethal Twists last week.

The Swirl says Jay Lethal isn’t here…but he will be at Global Wars tomorrow night….when they’re fighting a team that has nothing to do with what we just watched!

Myron Reed vs. Mansoor

The rest of their teams are here too. Mansoor takes him down into an armbar to start so Reed uses the rope to flip out and take Mansoor down. A jumping Fameasser gives Reed two before pointing at him, much to Mansoor’s annoyance. Mansoor’s kick to the ribs is cut off and Reed drives him into the corner, only for Mansoor to hit a middle rope bulldog. An elbow gives Mansoor two and we hit the chinlock.

Back up and Reed trips him off the middle rope, setting up a jumping enziguri. A DDT drops Mansoor and a hanging Downward Spiral plants him again. Mansoor loads up the poke but gets rolled up for two, only to come back with a Death Valley Driver. The others on the floor get into it with Madden poking TV in the eyes by mistake, causing them to punch each other out. Reed is back up with his big running cutter to pull Mansoor off the apron and onto the pile. Back in and the springboard 450 finishes for Reed at 8:47.

Rating: C+. Well, this was in fact Myron Reed beating Mansoor in a match that ran almost nine minutes and had a bunch of comedy involved. I have no idea why this match was booked in the first place when neither is a singles star and they don’t have any kind of a feud going on, but it could have been worse. Reed is crazy athletic, though I still have no idea what is supposed to set the Rascalz apart.

We recap Athena defending the Women’s Title against Maya World, who got the shot through the Proving Ground.

TMDK vs. Better Together

Haste takes Hadar down by the arm to start and a dropkick makes it worse. A standing moonsault/fist drop combination connects for TMDK but Hadar fights out of the corner. Gold comes in to help Hadar with a double arm crank on Haste. A double Russian legsweep doesn’t work though and it’s off to Nichols to take over on Gold. Everything breaks down and the Elevator Slam finishes Gold at 4:06.

Rating: C+. Again, what am I supposed to say here? The match was a team we’ve barely ever seen around here beating a team who have never been around here. I get the appeal of having TMDK around, but it’s another case of having a team here without explaining why we should care. Just listing off titles doesn’t get much of a foundation and it’s not like the match was very good in the first place.

We do actually get an announcement for a match in two weeks, with TMDK facing Roppongi Vice. On one hand, cool for announcing something in advance. On the other hand, it’s a Rocky Romero match.

Deonna Purrazzo is ready to beat Gisele Shaw at Global Wars.

Deonna Purrazzo vs. Robyn Renegade

Non-title Proving Ground Pure Rules match. Renegade tries to go after the arm to start and gets absolutely nowhere, with Purrazzo not looking impressed. Purrazzo takes her down and grabs a headlock, followed by a rollup for two. Back up and Purrazzo backs her into the corner, which is enough for the first rope break. The threat of the Fujiwara armbar sends Renegade into the ropes again but she’s able to roll out of another attempt. They trade forearms until Purrazzo hits a clothesline but Renegade knocks her down again. A middle rope moonsault misses though and Purrazzo grabs the Fujiwara for the win at 6:24.

Rating: C+. Renegade continues to feel like someone who could be a bigger deal if she was given a chance but that wasn’t going to happen here. Purrazzo is miles ahead of anyone else in the, pardon my nonsense, division, and that basically makes it the same thing as the men’s version. The match was fine, but the Pure stuff could be dropped with very little being lost.

Nick Comoroto vs. Anthony Ogogo

Comoroto wrestles him down to start and sends him into the corner for a running splash. Back up and Ogogo slugs away but a right hand is countered into a backslide for two. Comoroto hits a few ax handles and grabs a powerslam but the ribs (as earlier punched) give out. Ogogo’s suplex gets two and Comoroto rolls him up for the same. Shawn Dean gets in a cheap shot on Comoroto and a pop up right hand knocks him silly. Comoroto beats the ten count (even with Ogogo putting the UK flag over him) so Ogogo punches him again and gets the pin at 5:44.

Rating: D+. Oh sweet goodness I am sick of this show and everything about Ring Of Honor. This was a perfect example of why this show isn’t going anywhere. Ogogo was a prospect for AEW years ago and has meant NOTHING in his time around here. He hasn’t had a singles match in ROH (or AEW) in over a year and a half but they just trot him out here again to make a show that is already way too long even longer. As usual, Tony Khan insists on trying to get all of his 8573 wrestlers on various shows and it just drags everything out longer and longer with nothing being gained. But that TV deal is coming any day now right?

Women’s TV Title: Trish Adora vs. Red Velvet

Adora, on a three match losing streak and with Christian XO, is challenging and jumps Velvet from behind and knocks her to the floor. Velvet gets sent into the barricade for a seventeen count and gets caught in a weird over the shoulder stretch back inside. Adora bends the arms behind Velvet to make her clap before hammering away in the corner. Velvet manages to fight back with a DDT and punches right back in the corner as well

Some running knees hit Adora in the back on the ropes but XO gets up on the apron. Stir It Up misses and Adora’s very bridging German suplex gets two. A Stunner hits Adora, who is right back with a pump kick for two more. Straight Out Yo Mama’s Kitchen connects but XO gets on the apron because this needs to keep going. Velvet knocks her down but gets powerslammed for two. The Lariat Tubman misses though and Velvet gets a sunset flip for the retaining pin at 9:05.

Rating: C+. The match was fine but as usual, ROH has nothing resembling continuity or a standard for getting title shots. Adora hasn’t won a singles match since last August but sure, give her a title shot here. Then keep telling us that people getting wins could lead them to a title shot and assuming that no one notices because it’s that hard to remember.

Post match XO lays Velvet out but Zayda Steel makes the save. Commentary says that Steel had a great showing last night on Dynamite, likely because this was taped before the match she won earlier in the show. A lot of trash is talked and a tag match seems likely.

Women’s Title: Athena vs. Maya World

Athena is defending and goes after the arm to start, with World escaping into the corner. World grabs a quick fisherman’s suplex for two and Athena bails out to the floor. Athena is fine enough to load up a Vertebreaker before flipping World face first onto the steps. Back inside and Athena hammers away, setting up the chinlock.

World fights up and sends her into the middle rope with a swinging full nelson, followed by a German suplex for two. That’s shrugged off and Athena hits some basement dropkicks to knock World outside. Back in and a Koji Clutch goes on, with World having to get her foot on the rope. They trade running strikes against the ropes until World faceplants her on the apron. Athena stomps on the foot to break up a piledriver and suplexes World down onto the floor.

World barely beats the count and Athena is not pleased. They forearm it out from their knees and a pinfall reversal sequence gets some near falls each. The O Face misses and World sends her into the corner, allowing World to go up. Cue the Minions for a distraction so Hyan runs in to cut them off. Athena dives onto Hyan and grabs a rollup for two back inside.

A Canadian Destroyer gives Athena two more and she can’t believe the kickouts. Athena goes up and gets pulled down by a twisting sunset bomb. Something like a spinning Big Ending gives World two but she misses her own O Face. Athena cannot believe she tried that and unloads on her, setting up a Tombstone of all things for…two? World is dumped outside, where Billie Starkz jumps Hyan. The two of them head inside and Diamante slips Athena the belt to knock World silly. The O Face retains the title at 19:52.

Rating: B. Gah they were building towards something great here and then it fell apart with the interference and the belt shot. Athena was having to work here and there was an idea there to having her not be able to put World away. I have no idea who is going to take the title from Athena, but a showdown with Deonna Purrazzo seems likely. At the very least, this worked because they set up a story and this felt like a big showdown after it was put together. Imagine that.

Post match the beatdown stays on, with Starkz grabbing a Fujiwara armbar on World to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This show continues to be incredibly annoying, as they went over an hour and forty five minutes this week with a bunch of that being spent on pure filler. Some of the wrestling was fine and the main event was good, but this show continues to feel like a bunch of stuff that is thrown out there week to week.

The World Title is coming up on four months without being defended while Trish Adora’s lost in the TV Title match extended her losing streak to five straight matches. Meanwhile, how many people are undefeated for months and never get close to a title shot? I would say fix it, but that’s just not going to happen around here so I’ll just have to settle for a good main event and a few other nice spots around here.

Results
Persephone b. Lacey Lane – Razor’s Edge
Skyflight b. Grizzled Young Veterans/Isla Dawn – Rolling kick to Dawn
Myron Reed b. Mansoor – Springboard 450
TMDK b. Better Together – Elevator Slam to Gold
Deonna Purrazzo b. Robyn Renegade – Fujiwara armbar
Anthony Ogogo b. Nick Comoroto – Right hand
Red Velvet b. Trish Adora – Sunset flip
Athena b. Maya World – O Face

 

 

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Ring Of Honor – March 19, 2026: That’s Our Ring Of Honor

Ring Of Honor
Date: March 19, 2026
Location: WJCT Studios, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

AEW Revolution has come and gone and the big story as it relates to Ring Of Honor is World Champion Bandido losing to Andrade El Idolo. The problem is that likely doesn’t mean much around here, as Andrade probably won’t come after the title. Instead Blake Christian still seems to be coming for the title, which is why he was beaten by Will Ospreay this week on Dynamite. Let’s get to it.

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

We look at tonight’s two title shots.

Women’s Pure Rules Title: Deonna Purrazzo vs. Billie Starkz

Purrazzo is defending and Starkz bails out to the floor to start fast. Back in and Purrazzo hits a running knee but Starkz grabs a tornado DDT to send Purrazzo outside. Starkz gets a suplex for one but gets a warning for right hands to the face. Purrazzo gets annoyed at the kicks to the face and they trade forearms until both of them are knocked down. Back up and Purrazzo sends her to the apron for a hanging DDT so Starkz grabs a sleeper. That makes Purrazzo use her first rope break, allowing her to powerbomb Starkz into a Fujiwara armbar. Purrazzo switches into the Venus de Milo to make Starkz tap at 7:59.

Rating: C+. They were building something here but it didn’t have the time to really go anywhere. Purrazzo was in trouble with Starkz using the sleeper to some solid effect. Then Purrazzo just pulled her into the armbar to retain out of nowhere. It’s hardly a bad match but it looked like they were building to something bigger.

Post match Hyan and Maya World run in to celebrate but Athena and Diamante run in for the beatdown. Purrazzo manages to Fujiwara Diamante to send the villains running.

We look at Mistico and Jet Speed winning the AEW Trios Titles at Revolution.

Mark Davis vs. Angelico

Angelico’s headlock is broken up so he gives a quick hip thrust. Davis misses a charge in the corner and gets hit in the face a few times but knocks Ospreay into the corner rather quickly. A seated senton misses for Davis though and Angelico kicks him in the head. Davis’ belly to back suplex gets two and one heck of a running clothes finishes Angelico at 4:22.

Rating: C. This was just a step above a squash for Davis, who looked good enough in the process. He continues to impress in his rather frequent appearances, which is impressive given how unimportant he seemed for so long. Let him be the midcard powerhouse that he’s been in recent months, as it’s working for him.

Dark Order vs. Bustah And The Brain

Price armdrags Reynolds down to start as commentary tries to figure out which one is Bustah and which one is the brain. Uno and Oliver come in with Oliver rolling him up and then grabbing a headlock. Price and Oliver kick Uno down for two but the Order catches Oliver with a double dropkick. With Oliver down on the apron, the Order gives Price a double powerbomb down onto him for the big crash.

Back in and the Order starts taking turns beating on Oliver, with Reynolds grabbing a seated abdominal stretch. Oliver gets in an enziguri though and jumps over Uno for the tag back to Price. House is cleaned until Uno fights his way out of the corner. Uno’s jumping piledriver gets two on Price and Reynolds drops Uno by mistake. Price dives onto Uno and gets caught in something like a reverse Razor’s Edge/top rope facebuster combination for the pin at 10:56.

Rating: B. This wound up being a heck of a match, with Bustah And The Brain finally getting a win. They’ve had a lot of potential in their time here thus far but it only gets them so far without winning some matches. Yeah it’s just the Dark Order but it’s better than nothing. The Order got to have probably their best win around here too and that’s nice to see.

Persephone is disgusted by a reference to her loss to Mercedes Mone and thinks she runs this place now, as it’s perfect for her. She storms off to wrap it up quickly.

Rachael Ellering vs. Robyn Renegade

They go with the grappling to start and Renegade gets two off an early la majistral. Back up and Renegade knocks her into the corner for a running elbow but Ellering is back with a spinning shoulder. A hard whip into the corner has Renegade in more trouble and Ellering backsplashes her for two. Ellering’s TKO gets another two but she charges into a boot in the corner. Renegade hits a middle rope moonsault for the pin at 5:01.

Rating: C. That was a fast ending as Ellering was starting to roll and then just got pinned out of nowhere. It’s a bit hard to believe that Renegade is going to be rising up the card but stranger things have happened. Ellering losing is no surprise though, as it’s pretty much the only thing she does here.

Big Bill vs. Logan Cruz

Bill backs him into the corner to start and pounds away with the forearms. Cruz tries to slug away and walks into a swinging Boss Man Slam for the pin at 1:46.

Christyan XO/Trish Adora vs. Kelsey Reagan/Dream Girl Ellie

Adora gives Ellie a delayed slam and it’s off to XO for a shoulder in the corner to Reagan. It’s back to Adora and the Lariat Tubman finishes at 2:22. Total squash.

Grizzled Young Veterans/Isla Dawn vs. Rosario Grillo/Valentina Rossi/The OXP

Drake works on Grillo’s arm to start and it’s off to Gibson for a spinwheel kick. Some knees set up a butterfly suplex and Grillo has to bring in Rossi to face Dawn. They trade some early rolls before Dawn kicks her down. OXP and Gibson come in with Gibson hammering away and Drake getting to talk trash in the corner. OXP manages to kick Drake in the face though and Rossi comes back in to strike away. Dawn suplexes her down and it’s back to Grillo, who walks into Grit Your Teeth to give Drake the pin at 4:53.

Rating: C+. The Veterans are a weird team as they have the in-ring abilities and feel like they should be a bigger deal than they are. However, for whatever reason almost nothing they do feels important. The tag division could use them, but if they stay where they have been, that won’t be happening anytime soon.

Post match the Veterans and Dawn keep up the beating until SkyFlight make the save.

We look back at the women’s brawl earlier.

Diamante vs. Hyena Hera

Athena is here with Diamante, who powers her into the corner to start. A German suplex drops Hera and Diamante kicks away at the chest. Hera’s kick to the face doesn’t get her very far as Diamante elbows her in the jaw. A Roll of the Dice finishes for Diamante at 2:07.

Post match Diamante says she’s the purest thing on the roster and grabs the Fujiwara armbar.

Lethal Twist vs. Superstarz

The chyron says Lethal Twist and the video screen says Lethal Swirl. Johnson works on Eight’s arm to start and hits a dropkick before it’s off to Christian vs. Mars. Christian takes over on him as well so Lethal comes in to strike away on Wild. Everything breaks down and Wild is tied in the Tree Of Woe for a string of running kicks in a nice sequence. Lethal hits a basement dropkick and the chinlock goes on. Wild manages a shot of his own and it’s back to Eight, who is quickly Death Valley Drivered. Hail To The King finishes for Lethal at 4:55.

Rating: C+. As has been the case for the last few months, Lethal and company have felt like they’re ready to go after the World Title for months now but they never actually challenge for the belt. Hopefully they get to the match already as it’s been set up for far too long now. At least there’s a story there and Christian taking the title wouldn’t be the worst idea, assuming he’s not 79 years old by the time the match happens.

Post match Lethal grabs a Figure Four and the Swirl beat on the other two, with Bandido, Tommy Billington and Adam Priest making the save.

TV Title: Nick Wayne vs. Komander

Komander is challenging. Wayne shakes his hand and rolls him up for an early two so Komander sends things outside. There’s the quick dive but it’s too early for Cielito Lindo as Wayne breaks it up. That leaves Komander favoring his knee and a dragon screw legwhip out of the corner makes it even worse.

Wayne cranks on the knee some more and the Figure Four sends Komander over to the ropes. Komander kicks his way out of trouble and hits some elbows to the face. The knee gives Komander some trouble though and he takes his time following up. That means Wayne can dragon screw the knee again, this time over the ropes. Wayne hits a superkick but gets caught with a poisonrana.

Komander goes up, with Wayne cutting him off. A top rope superplex into a frog splash sets up the Figure Four, with Komander having to make it over to the rope again. Wayne tells Komander to chop him and knocks him down for doing so, but Wayne’s World is blocked. Instead Komander gets in a Canadian Destroyer but Cielito Lindo can’t connect. Wayne kicks the knee out and a fisherman’s buster retains the title at 13:48.

Rating: B-. Well, it was his first title defense in about eight months and I’m not sure why he held the title after so much of a hiatus, but at least he’s back now. Wayne is good as a cocky heel who you want to see get punched in the face and he did a nice job of taking out the knee here to slow Komander down. It felt like a main event so I’ll take what I can get out of that.

Overall Rating: C. This was quite the Ring Of Honor, as the women’s division is picking up again, with a potential Athena vs. Purrazzo showdown on the rather distant horizon. The problem here was the big stretch of matches in the middle mainly featured squashes from lower midcard stars. Cut out three or so of those and the show feels a lot tighter without much being lost. In other words, pretty standard Ring Of Honor.

Results
Deonna Purrazzo b. Billie Starkz – Venus de Milo
Mark Davis b. Angelico – Clothesline
Bustah And The Brain b. Dark Order – Reverse Razor’s Edge/top rope faceplant combination to Reynolds
Robyn Renegade b. Rachael Ellering – Middle rope moonsault
Big Bill b. Logan Cruz – Swinging Boss Man Slam
Christyan XO/Trish Adora b. Kelsey Reagan/Dream Girl Ellie – Lariat Tubman to Reagan
Grizzled Young Veterans/Isla Dawn b. Rosario Grillo/Valentina Rossi/The OXP – Grit Your Teeth to Grillo
Diamante b. Hyena Hera – Roll The Dice
Lethal Twist b. Superstarz – Hail To The King to Eight
Nick Wayne b. Komander – Fisherman’s buster

 

 

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

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Ring Of Honor – March 12, 2026: Why Should I Care?

Ring Of Honor
Date: March 12, 2026
Location: WJCT Studios, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We’re onto the second week in the studio this time and hopefully the show has a bit more of a chance to breathe this week. If nothing else, there are some titles on the line this time, with the Pure and Tag Team Titles being defended. There are also some Proving Ground matches, which I guess count for something. Let’s get to it.

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

Deonna Purrazzo talks about Athena trying to teach her a lesson and it hasn’t worked. She’s ready to face Billie Starkz next week in pure rules (implying the title is on the line) but tonight, Athena needs to worry about Maya World.

Athena vs. Maya World

Non-title Proving Ground match. Athena knocks her hard into the corner and shouts a lot but World gets in a spinning kick to the ribs. They head outside where World kicks her in the face but Athena fires off some kicks of her own back inside (nice mirroring of the counters there). World shrugs off some choking and fires off the forearms, only to get clotheslined out to the floor.

The ensuing dive connects for Athena, who drops her off the steps. Back in and the cravate goes on, followed by a chinlock, which is reversed into a rollup for two. Some rollups give World two so Athena hits her in the face as we have two minutes left. The O Face is broken up and World hits a spinning Falcon Arrow for two more. We have less than thirty seconds to go and World gives her a faceplant for two as time expires at 10:00.

Rating: B-. Well, at least Athena is going to have to defend the belt, which hasn’t been done since December. World might not seem like the biggest threat to the title but she’s certainly better than having no challenger. They had a good match here and the time flew by, mainly due to how well they pulled me into things. Nice job.

Women’s TV Title: Hyan vs. Red Velvet

Velvet is defending and they go to the grappling to start. A pump kick drops Velvet for two but she’s right back with a boot of her own for two of the same. Some rollups give Velvet two but she gets knocked into the corner for a running knee. Hyan’s Falcon Arrow gets two so she tries a tiger suplex, which is countered into a rollup to give Velvet two more. That’s enough for Velvet as she nails a spinning kick to the head to retain at 5:11.

Rating: C+. That kick looked great as Velvet absolutely blasted her. Hyan and Maya World seem to be the fresh blood in the division and that is not a bad thing at all as it could certainly use the help. At the same time, Velvet has been doing rather well lately and deserves a lot of credit for her rapid improvement.

Shane Taylor Promotions vs. Aaron Solo/Nick Comoroto/QT Marshall

Non-title Proving Ground match because these titles just aren’t defended these days. The champs jump them to start but Bravo gets caught in the corner for some running shots. Solo gets tripped from the floor though and a shot to the back of the head has him down on the apron. The Promotions get to pose a bit and it’s back to Bravo for a springboard Vader Bomb.

Bravo starts stomping on the ankle and Bronco Buster gets two. The chinlock goes on for a bit, followed by a slingshot spear to keep Solo in trouble. Something like a Demolition Decapitator gets two more but Solo is back with that always stupid looking counter where someone DDTs their own partner, allowing the tag off to Marshall.

Everything breaks down and the Promotions mock Big Boom AJ (there’s a Revolution Zero Hour match), only to get caught with a springboard double Stunner. Taylor and Comoroto come in for the big man trade of shoulders before they knock down the other four with clotheslines. Comoroto slams Taylor for two and a double clothesline drops Bravo and Dean as we’re already past the ten minute time limit but oh well. Taylor punches Comoroto down and the double stomp finishes at 10:47.

Rating: C. I mean, the titles mean nothing so why bother keeping track of the time either? It’s not like they were calling the time or anything, so this was basically just a six man tag, which makes me wonder why they didn’t bother just making it a title match. The match was a long stretch of heat on Solo until Comoroto come in to do his big brawl with Taylor. Either way, it’s just more proof that these titles do not need to exist as Ring Of Honor can’t even bother following their own internal rules for finding challengers. Oh and thank goodness they let Comoroto look like a monster and then pin him when Solo was available.

Tag Team Titles: La Faccion Ingobernable vs. ???

La Faccion is defending in an open challenge (because winning tag matches around here means nothing) against any former Tag Team Champions. In this case that would be….the Colons, who were champions in WWE a cool thirteen years ago. Mortos, in his torn up suit, hands it off to Guevara to start with Eddie, but we’ll bring Mortos back in. Eddie gets tired of waiting and rolls Mortos up for two, followed by a double dropkick.

Orlando gets knocked down as we talk about the history of wrestling in Puerto Rico. Guevara doesn’t want to tag in so the champions go to the floor, where it’s a double dive to take them down. Back in and Mortos takes over on Orlando, with Guevara now willing to come in for a delayed suplex.

Orlando gets sent into the corner but manages a reversal, with Guevara accidentally powerslamming Mortos. Guevara is fine enough to hit a middle rope cutter for two on Orlando but the GTH is countered into a Downward Spiral for two. Eddie comes back in to clean house until he gets crotched on top. Mortos’ pop up Samoan drop finishes at 8:11.

Rating: C. The only thing that came into my mind here was how little Ring Of Honor seems to care about these titles. Since the start of 2025, they’ve been defended eight times total, often in random one off matches like this one. I have no idea why that is the best way to go, but at least we got the Colons. No not the biggest star in Carlito, but those other two! What a big deal!

Premiere Athletes vs. Angelica Risk/Mark Davidson/Parker Li

Davidson and Daivari trade wristlocks to start and it’s off to Denali, with Davidson crossing himself in fear. Denali drops Risk face first onto the turnbuckle and it’s off to Nese, who strikes away at Li. Everything breaks down and Denali chokeslams Risk for the pin at 2:30.

Jay Lethal and the Swirl want the World Title.

Scorpio Sky vs. Bryan Keith

Feeling out process to start with Sky taking him down for a stomp onto the arm. The armbar goes on for a bit until Sky switches over to the leg. Back up and Sky is knocked outside before being chopped down on the apron. Keith suplexes him for two before chopping Sky out to the floor again. Sky is able to come back with some running shots to the face, followed by a sitout powerbomb for two. Back up and Keith scores with a running headbutt, only to walk into a TKO for the pin at 9:35.

Rating: C+. This was in fact a wrestling match between two middle of the road stars. They’re both talented stars but neither of them are doing a single thing right now. Thankfully we didn’t hear about how this could put one of them into title contention because, well….well because it’s Ring Of Honor.

Post match Big Bill and the Grizzled Young Veterans run in to lay out Sky and Christopher Daniels.

Nick Wayne is defending the TV Title against Komander next week. Well that’s nice of him.

We look at Lee Moriarty retaining the Pure Title over Josh Woods back in September. This sets up the rematch, because it’s not like there is anyone else to come after the title.

Pure Title: Josh Woods vs. Lee Moriarty

Moriarty is defending. They go with the grappling to start and Moriarty grabs a headscissors. Woods reverses into a headlock before rolling some German suplexes. That’s enough for Moriarty to go to the ropes for his first break so Woods grabs an ankle twist. Woods slams the knee into the mat and Moriarty has to use his second rope break. Moriarty starts working on the hand, with an armbar sending Woods over to the ropes for his first break.

A reverse Koji Clutch goes on, with Woods using another break to even things up. Back up and they trade forearms and big boots for a double down. Moriarty gets sent to the apron so he comes back in with a springboard forearm. The Border City Stretch makes Woods use his third rope break so Woods is back with a running knee. A one knee Codebreaker gets two and an armbar makes Moriarty use his last break. Moriarty comes back with a leg lariat for the pin at 11:19, with Woods’ grab of the rope meaning nothing.

Rating: B-. It was fine, as is often the case with everything Moriarty does. At the same time, it’s another match that went pretty much the same way as every Moriarty match. It doesn’t help that the process for getting a title shot seems to be “win a Pure Rules match” and that’s about all. Moriarty has held the title for the better part of ever anyway and this was just another successful defense.

Overall Rating: C. This was another good example of what’s wrong with Ring Of Honor, as outside of a few things, it feels like a lot of the show is thrown together. Title matches are thrown out almost at random and you have things like the Proving Ground match going too long and it just being a thing that happened. The wrestling is fine but there is almost no reason to pay attention to anything around here because if Ring Of Honor doesn’t care, there’s no reason for fans to care.

Results
Athena vs. Maya World went to a time limit draw
Red Velvet b. Hyan – Spinning kick to the head
Shane Taylor Promotions b. Nick Comoroto/QT Marshall/Aaron Solo – Double stomp to Comoroto
La Faccion Ingobernable b. Colons – Pop up Samoan drop to Eddie
Premiere Athletes b. Angelica Risk/Mark Davidson/Parker Li – Chokeslam to Risk
Scorpio Sky b. Bryan Keith – TKO
Lee Moriarty b. Josh Woods – Leg lariat

 

 

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Ring Of Honor – March 5, 2026: The New Beginning Isn’t New

Ring Of Honor
Date: March 5, 2026
Location: WJCT Studios, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

And then everything changed. Apparently from now on, the show is going to be taped from this studio, with multiple weeks already in the can. That could make for some better focus around here, but there is also the chance that this is going to result in the shows being even longer with more mostly tossed out there matches. We can hope for the best though so let’s get to it.

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

Opening video.

Video on Persephone.

Persephone vs. Sara Leon

Persephone grabs a headlock to start and elbows Leon in the face to put her down. Back up and Leon’s chops don’t do much good, with Persephone taking over on the arm instead. A fall away slam sets up a hammerlock but Leon manages a headscissors into the ropes. Leon German suplexes her for two but Persephone is back with a missile dropkick for the same. A Razor’s Edge doesn’t work for Persephone so she hits a spear, followed by the Razor’s Edge for the pin at 5:37.

Rating: C. Commentary kept hyping up Persephone’s shot at the CMLL Women’s Title on Friday so this was a glorified warmup match. Leon got in some offense here and did well enough, but this was all about Persephone getting ready for Mercedes Mone. Not a bad match, but pretty much the same kind of thing that you would see on any of the older shows. That’s hardly the best way to start off a new era, if if the match was ok.

Komander vs. Sidney Akeem

They take turns spinning out of wristlocks to start and we get a handshake, with Akeem pulling him into a waistlock. Akeem flips out of a sunset flip and hits a running Meteora to put Komander down. A running shooting star press gives Akeem two but Komander is back up with a spinning high crossbody for the same. Komander superkicks him to the apron, where Akeem pops up and over a baseball slide for a dive to the floor (geez). Back in and Akeem flips away from some shots but gets sent outside for a suicide dive. Cielito Lindo finishes for Komander at 5:55.

Rating: B-. The match was all over the place as Akeem continues to look like a human video game character. The kinds of things he can do in the ring are absolutely insane and while he’s hardly a top star, there is pretty much no one else who can keep up with him. It’s worth a look, especially with Komander being one of the few people close to what he can do.

Video on Bustah And The Brain (Jordan Oliver/Alec Price). They’re described as “on the rise”. Their career record in ROH/AEW: 0-5.

Top Flight vs. Grizzled Young Veterans

Their respective friends are here too. Darius takes Gibson down by the arm to start and they’re quickly on the mat for a technical off. Back up and Darius hits a dropkick, meaning it’s already time for a double tag. Dante comes in for a hurricanrana to Drake, who goes to the hair to pull Dante down. It’s back to Gibson, who is taken into the wrong corner so Top Flight can pick up the pace.

Darius is back in and gets cut off on the apron, allowing Drake to elbow him in the face for two. A suplex gets Darius out of trouble and it’s back to Dante to start flipping and kicking. The springboard high crossbody gets two on Drake with Gibson making the save. Everything breaks down and Isla Dawn jumps Zayda Steel on the floor. Darius is dropped as well as Steel fights back to go after Dawn. Back in and the double underhook double DDT finishes Gibson at 9:25.

Rating: B-. Another fun match, though forgive me for not believing that these teams are on the way up the ladder. Top Flight has been around for the better part of ever and never accomplished anything of note, which is rather frustrating. The Veterans aren’t much better, but you can probably pencil in a six person tag out of this thing.

Post match Top Flight goes to leave but walk past Big Bill and Bryan Keith, apparently now known as Paid In Full.

Paid In Full vs. Darian Bengston/Kiran Grey

Keith throws his gear at Bengston to start and shoulders him down for two. Bengston’s comeback is cut out with a spinning forearm to the face and it’s off to Bill. A running splash in the corner hits Grey and Bill does it a second time for extra oomph. Back to back big boots finish Grey at 2:47. Total squash.

Video on Athena vs. Maya World, with a Proving Ground match being set for next week.

Josh Woods vs. Nathan Cruz

Pure Rules. An early cross armbreaker sends Cruz straight over to the ropes for his first break before Woods works on a hammerlock. Back up and Cruz is sent crashing out to the floor, with a suplex bringing him back inside. The armbar goes on again but this time Cruz takes him into the ropes, with Woods being pulled into them for a break. Not a Rope Break but a break. A neckbreaker puts Woods down for two and a belly to back suplex gets two. Cruz’s sleeper is countered into an armbar with Woods using his legs to make Cruz tap at 4:23.

Rating: C+. As usual, Woods looks good in these things and can do some rather impressive technical stuff, but it only gets him so far when he’s barely ever around. If nothing else, it would be nice to see him go after the Pure Rules Title, just so it can be defended in a way that isn’t “the challenger doesn’t know the rules”. That finisher certainly looked good as I can go for someone using a unique way to torture their opponent.

Tommy Billington and Adam Priest are going to get to the Swirl and Jay Lethal, but they have something else to do this week.

Tommy Billington/Adam Priest vs. Workhorsemen

Priest uppercuts Henry down to start and it’s already off to Billington. Drake breaks up a double suplex though and Billington is taken outside for a piledriver on the floor. Back in and Priest gets caught in the wrong corner. Drake gives him a suplex and it’s back to Henry for some ripping at the face. Priest escapes but Billington is still down on the floor (that’s nice to see for a change) and Drake hits Priest in the face again.

The villains take turns beating on Priest in the corner again but Billington is back in for the save. Everything breaks down and back to back dives take the Workhorsemen down on the floor. Back in and Billington manages a rollup to pin Henry (that didn’t look great as Billington seemed to let go early) at 7:45.

Rating: C+. At least Priest and Billington are getting a push and are in an actual feud. That’s a heck of a lot better than what you would get otherwise, as there is something to be said about having two wrestlers actually doing something rather than running on the treadmill that is the tag division. The Workhorsemen are good in their spots, but they’re firmly locked into those spots and that isn’t going to change anytime soon.

Mina Shirakawa vs. Zayda Steel

Christopher Daniels is here with Steel. Shirakawa slides into the dance to start so Steel goes around her for a quick spank and dance of her own. Back up and Shirakawa pulls her into something of a Texas Cloverleaf and drops her into a backbreaker. The block of the Figure Four is blocked and Shirakawa gets it on, with Steel making the rope rather quickly.

A neckbreaker gives Steel two and a running knee in the corner rocks Shirakawa again. They trade the big forearms until Steel hits a running elbow against the ropes, only for Shirakawa to do the same. A missile dropkick and the top rope Sling Blade give Shirakawa two but Steel is back with a dropkick. Shirakawa just decks her with a spinning backfist though and the Figure Four finishes Steel at 7:47.

Rating: C. Hey look: Steel loses again. That’s almost all she does around here (and in AEW) and it’s getting more and more difficult to care about her. I’m not sure how many more matches she’s going to lose but odds are it’s going to be several, all while she’s “climbing the ladder” or whatever the latest term is around here.

Post match respect is shown.

Billie Starkz seems to have attacked Deonna Purrazzo and Athena says this is a message/warning to Maya World. Ignore that Purrazzo seems to be smiling her head off.

Bang Bang Gang vs. MxM Collection

Robinson sticks his finger in his nose for Mansoor’s tip to tip touch, earning himself a hair pull. An armbar puts Mansoor down and into the ropes, meaning Robinson is back up with an atomic drop. Gunn comes in and gets his eyes raked, only to hit Mansoor low. It’s off to Madden to hammer on Gunn in the corner so Robinson makes a blind tag. The Gang starts taking turns to stagger Madden, who suplexes both of them at once.

Mansoor comes in to stomp away, with Madden adding the running hips to the face. A belly to back suplex puts Gunn down and a side slam/running legdrop combination gets two. Madden misses a middle rope elbow though and it’s back to Robinson, who runs into a boot in the corner. Mansoor gets crotched on the top rope for some bouncing, with Madden hitting a double spear for the save. A double suplex drops Madden though and Mansoor gets thrown onto him. Robinson’s forward DDT finishes Mansoor at 12:01.

Rating: C+. So I guess the Gang is another team who is being added to the rotating roster around here because that’s what this place needs. Robinson is still a ball of charisma but as usual, there’s only so much that can be done with Robinson and one half of the Gunns. The team just feels like some scraps thrown together and that isn’t likely to go very far.

La Faccion Ingobernable brags about being undefeated as a tag team but they have to defend the belts. Therefore, it’s open challenge time for any former Tag Team Champions to come after the belts. And there’s the kind of thing that makes this weekly show feel useless. Commentary spends the entire show talking about how someone can win to move up in the title standings and all that, but instead it’s “anyone can come get a shot”. In other words, all of the previous matches mean nothing, because “eh screw it, open challenge time”.

Lacey Lane vs. Robyn Renegade

Renegade takes over with the power game to start so Lane does a rather springboardy wristdrag. Lane hits some running kicks in the corner but Renegade is back with a springboard stomp of all things. A sitout gordbuster gives Renegade two but Lane is back up with some running shots to the face. What looks like a Nightmare On Helm Street (which looked like it had a camera edit) gets two on Renegade, followed by something like an AA into a legdrop to finish for Lane at 5:17.

Rating: C. This was another match on a show with a lot of them. I’m really not sure what else there is to say here, as neither of these two have anything going on and it’s hard to believe that they’re going to have anything going on. Maybe Lane gets a TV Title shot or something, but it’s not like there’s any story there. That’s the problem with so many matches around here, as they’re just things that happen rather than matches that go anywhere.

Matt Menard vs. Shane Taylor vs. Lee Johnson vs. AR Fox

The winner gets an immediate title shot at a mystery championship and this is under elimination rules. Menard and Taylor start things off, with Taylor powering him into the corner. That has Menard bailing away a few times but getting dropped with a running shoulder. It’s off to Johnson vs. Fox for an exchange of quick escapes and counters until Taylor comes back in. A Tower Of London to the floor plants Johnson hard but Menard is back in to slug away on Taylor. Everything breaks down and Taylor punches Menard in the jaw for the elimination at 6:09.

Taylor takes Fox into the corner but gets low bridged down to the floor. Fox dives over the top onto both of them but Taylor is back in for running splashes in the corner. That doesn’t last long either though as Fox rolls Taylor up for the pin and elimination at 8:47. Johnson immediately rolls Fox up for some near falls, followed by Fox’s tiger bomb for two more.

The Swanton hits raised knees though and they trade some rapid fire kicks. Johnson hits a brainbuster and they’re both down (with their heads on the other’s arms, which should probably be a double pin. Johnson suplexes him hard and a frog splash gets two but Fox is back with a quick slam. The 450 gives Fox the pin at 13:34.

Rating: B-. This was another match that felt rather long and is designed to set up another match on this show, which feels rather crammed on at the end. Fox winning is a nice way to go as there is something to be said about having him fight like this and then win a title as a way to end the show. The other three were fine as well here and it was nice to see Menard getting hit in the face.

And now, a title match, with Fox pulling the announcement out of a box.

AEW International Title: Kazuchika Okada vs. AR Fox

Fox is challenging and we are again reminded that Okada is the greatest tournament wrestler of all time. I still have no idea what that has to do with a non-tournament match but that’s what we need to be told over and over. Okada dropkicks him into the corner to start as commentary tries to say Okada is wrestling on short rest as well after winning the Trios Titles last night (despite him not having that belt or being announced as such due to the taping schedule).

Fox gets choked on the rope and a DDT plants him on the floor. Back in and another DDT gives Okada two but he misses a charge and gets sent to the apron. That means a running DDT from Fox, followed by a kick to the face. An Air Raid Crash onto the knee sets up the top rope elbow to give Okada two. Back up and Fox kicks him in the face, followed by a 450 for two more. Okada misses a few Rainmakers but his the dropkick, setting up the Rainmaker to retain at 5:44.

Rating: C+. Well that happened. The bigger star came in, beat up the tired challenger, kicked out of his finisher, and retained the title. It was deflating to have Fox lose like that after his big win as it was little more than a quick loss. Maybe like, let the match be built up for a bit and get some time on another show?

Overall Rating: D+. Nope. I’m not sure what this was supposed to be, but it was more of the same mess that has gotten Ring Of Honor in its current place. This was supposed to be some new era of the promotion and NOT ONE OF THE EIGHT TITLES THIS SHOW HAS TO OFFER is on the line?

No no, instead your big moment is an AEW star coming in (unannounced of course) because Heaven forbid the Women’s Title, World Title or even the Six Man Titles are defended (I mean, none of them have been defended since Final Battle, three months ago). Instead, it’s the usual bunch of matches, most of which are just wrestling for the sake of wrestling. The show ran two hours because every single thing (even down to Josh Woods vs. Nathan Cruz and Lacey Lane vs. Robyn Renegade) absolutely had to be here.

Ring Of Honor isn’t a wrestling promotion. It’s Tony Khan getting to pretend that he owns two promotions because he thinks it’s impressive while putting on the least important weekly show he can imagine. As usual, this absolutely isn’t a problem from the wrestlers, but rather spending two hours with almost nothing involving Ring Of Honor taking place. I’m sure TV is coming though. Any…what is it, year now?

Results
Persephone b. Sara Leon – Razor’s Edge
Komander b. Sydney Akeem – Cielito Lindo
Top Flight b. Grizzled Young Veterans – Double underhook double DDT to Gibson
Paid In Full b. Darian Bengston/Kiran Grey – Big boot to Grey
Josh Woods b. Nathan Cruz – Leg armbar
Tommy Billington/Adam Priest b. Workhorsemen – Rollup to Henry
Mina Shirakawa b. Zayda Steel – Figure Four
Lacey Lane b. Robyn Renegade – Fireman’s carry slam into a legdrop
AR Fox b. Shane Taylor, Lee Johnson and Matt Menard last eliminating Johnson
Kazuchika Okada b. AR Fox – Rainmaker

 

 

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

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Ring Of Honor – February 5, 2026: We’re Being Invaded?

Ring Of Honor
Date: February 5, 2026
Location: eSports Stadium Arlington, Arlington, Texas
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

It’s a special show this week as we have another Global Wars. In this case the invading forces are provided by Athena’s Metroplex promotion so we’ll be seeing some special guest stars. If nothing else, I’ll take this over some thrown together show with absolutely nothing going on so let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of Athena and the Minions against Hyan/Maya World/Deonna Purrazzo, which should be one of the show’s main events.

Demo Diamond/Reiza Clarke/LVJ/Kai Jai Wright vs. Shane Taylor Promotions

Bravo takes Wright down to start but gets taken down with a running shoulder. They take turns running the ropes until Bravo hits a heck of a right hand. LVJ comes in and takes over on Dean before it’s off to Clarke vs. Adora. The women don’t stay in long as it’s back to Bravo for a Bronco Buster on Wright. Taylor comes in for the big shots in the corner but Dean’s half crab is broken up. It’s back to the women, with Clarke hitting a running forearm in the corner. A side slam gets two but Adora’s German suplex into a Saito suplex drops Clarke just as fast. Lariat Tubman finishes Clarke at 7:29.

Rating: C. This felt like a showcase for a bunch of the Metro wrestlers, but there is only so much you can get out of four wrestlers in a match that doesn’t even last seven and a half minutes. At the same time, the Promotions mostly ran over them, which didn’t make for a great match. It’s not a bad opener, but I still don’t get the appeal of the Promotions.

Red Velvet vs. Vertvixen

Non-Title Proving Ground match. Feeling out process to start with the teams trading some knockdowns until Vertvixen gets the better of things. A springboard elbow out of the corner gives Velvet two but Vertvixen is back with an armdrag into an armbar. Velvet is right back with an armbar of her own, at least until Vertvixen ties her in the Tree Of Woe for some rapid fire kicks. That’s escaped and Straight Out Your Mama’s Kitchen is blocked and Vertvixen’s Blue Thunder Bomb gets two. Velvet is back with a spinning bulldog though and now Straight Out Your Mama’s Kitchen finishes Vertvixen at 7:05.

Rating: C+. Not bad here, though it felt like a match you would see on any given edition of Ring Of Honor. Vertvixen is fine as a good hand who can be brought in to make others look better. The good thing here is that she did so against Velvet, who is rapidly improving around here. She’s getting better month by month and that is nice to see, as it only happens in so many cases.

Christopher Daniels wants Skyflight to step up, say by facing La Faccion Ingobernable for the Tag Team Titles. The challenge is on.

Surf & Turf vs. Big Bill/Bryan Keith

That would be Braddah Kaimi (Surf, your stereotypical Hawaiian surfer) and Phil Shark (Turf, a man in a shark costume). Keith starts with Shark, who does wrestle in the shark hat, which thankfully doesn’t last long. Kaimi comes in off a blind tag and slams Keith into a neckbreaker from Shark.

The team tries what they call the Harpoon, which results in Keith kicking Shark in the head to take over. We settle down to Keith dropping a knee on Kaimi but it’s quickly back to Shark to clean house. Bill chokeslams Kaimi hard onto the apron though and the back big boots drop Shark. The swinging Boss Man Slam finishes for Bill at 5:49.

Rating: C. This wasn’t quite a comedy match but Surf & Turf feel like a comedy team. There’s nothing wrong with that kind of an act going out there, but the match was only so much in doubt. Bill and Keith could wind up being something if they were given the chance, though that isn’t likely the case in Ring Of Honor.

MPX Women’s Title: Abadon vs. Ray Lyn

Abadon is defending and knocks her into the corner to start, meaning it’s a running knee to the head. Lyn is back up with a takedown and some right hands, which is reversed into a fight over leglocks. With that broken up, Lyn’s kick to the head gets two and she grabs something like an Indian deathlock. That’s broken up and Abadon is back with a swinging slam for two. Lyn’s bridging suplex gets the same but a quick Downward Spiral retains the title at 5:48.

Rating: C-. This was another match where they didn’t have much time to really get going. At the same time, it didn’t feel like it had much in the way of a story or anything besides the two of them just doing moves to each other. It certainly wasn’t bad, but nothing that stood out in any way.

Lee Moriarty vs. Exodus Prime

Non-Title Proving Ground match. They go to the mat to start and neither gets anywhere in particular. Moriarty gets an octopus hold and Prime falls into the ropes for the break. Prime comes after him but charges into a Downward Spiral into the middle buckle. Moriarty grabs a cravate and then ties him up with his legs, sending Prime over to the ropes again. Prime enziguris him into the corner though and a full nelson backbreaker gets two. A pop up powerbomb sets up the Boston crab, with Moriarty having to use his first break. Something like a tiger bomb into a Side Effect gives Moriarty the pin at 6:25.

Rating: C. It was the kind of match you know you’re going to get from Moriarty and that means it was only so interesting. They traded some submission stuff and Moriarty eventually caught him for the win. In other words, it was just about the exact same thing that we’ve seen time after time from Moriarty.

Post match respect is shown.

The Premiere Athletes meets up with the Swirl in the back and they decide to team up to get rid of the luchador problem around here.

MPX Title: Delynn Cavens vs. JD Griffey

Griffey is challenging and strikes him down to start. Cavens gets back up to pick up the pace, only for a springboard to be broken up. Griffey drops him onto the apron, where Cavens hits something like a 619. The 450 gives Cavens two but a springboard misses as Cavens makes sure to avoid the referee. A shoulder breaker gives Griffey the pin and the title at 3:57.

Rating: C-. Uh ok. This was another match that didn’t go anywhere and just wrapped up in short order. Neither of them stood out in any way and unless commentary just didn’t tell us about it, there was no story to the title match. If they wanted this to be better, maybe cut out another of the match and give this one its time.

Hyan/Maya World/Deonna Purrazzo vs. Athena/Billie Starkz/Diamante

Athena and World start things off with Athena not looking overly worried. World takes her down a few times, with some headscissors getting Athena out and the two of them to a staredown. Athena’s dropkick works a bit better and an enziguri sends World into the corner for the tag off to Purrazzo.

That means Athena is quickly knocked down, as is Starkz, with a double suplex giving Hyan two. A double bulldog gets two more on Starkz but Athena offers a trip from the floor to take over. That leaves Diamante to come in with a Code Red and the villains start rotating in on World in the corner. A backbreaker gets World out of trouble and Purrazzo takes out Starkz on the floor, allowing the tag to bring her in. Purrazzo gets to clean house but Starkz saves Diamante from a powerbomb.

Everything breaks down and Athena deadlifts World. Diamante’s rolling Chaos Theory gets two on Purrazzo but she kicks free and tags…well actually Hyan and World at the same time. Athena has to make a save of her own and a double middle rope Codebreaker hits Hyan and Purrazzo. World dropkicks Diamante into the cover for the save and Starkz’s Swanton hits raised knees. A bridging cradle gives World the pin on Starkz at 11:42.

Rating: B-. Best match of the show by far here, which shouldn’t be a surprise as it had the most star power and actual story. Unfortunately this seems like it’s leading towards Starkz and Athena splitting, which has already happened (at least once) and now we might get to see it again. There is really no one else to go after the thing? Like someone who hasn’t headlined Final Battle against Athena twice?

Post match Athena yells at Starkz and Diamante to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. Well, on one hand it was nice to see something fresh but at the same time it was another dull show. The ROH stars completely dominated the show and there was little in the way of storyline advancement. That being said, there are often all kinds of matches that don’t lead anywhere around here so it was the norm with some slightly different names. Hopefully the Skyflight thing leads somewhere, as a few title matches around here could do some good.

Results
Shane Taylor Promotions b. Demo Diamond/Reiza Clarke/LVJ/Kai Jai Wright – Lariat Tubman to Clarke
Red Velvet b. Vertvixen – Straight Out Your Mama’s Kitchen
Big Bill/Bryan Keith b. Surf & Turf – Swinging Boss Man Slam to Shark
Abadon b. Ray Lynn – Downward Spiral
Lee Moriarty b. Exodus Prime – Butterfly Side Effect
JD Griffey b. Delynn Cavens – Shoulder breaker
Hyan/Maya World/Deonna Purrazzo b. Athena/Billie Starkz/Diamante – Bridging cradle to Starkz

 

 

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Ring Of Honor – January 29, 2026: A Dull, Unimportant Show

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

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

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

Opening sequence.

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

Athena vs. Vertvixen

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

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

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

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

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

Anthony Henry vs. Adam Priest

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

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

Aaron Solo vs. Tommy Billington

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

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

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

JD Drake vs. Katsuyori Shibata

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Tony Nese vs. Mascara Dorada

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

 

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Collision – January 10, 2026: Dang That Was Awesome

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

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

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Death Riders vs. SkyFlight

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

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

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

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

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

Brody King vs. Barrett Brown

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

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

El Clon vs. Komander

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

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

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

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

AEW, Collision, Mina Shirakawa, Lady Frost

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Mina Shirakawa vs. Lady Frost

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

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

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

AEW, Collision, TNT Title, Mark Briscoe, Hechicero

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

TNT Title: Hechicero vs. Mark Briscoe

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

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

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

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

Post match the Conglomeration comes out to celebrate.

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

Video on FTR, including their issues with Adam Copeland.

AEW, Collision, Kris Statlander, Willow Nightingale, Harley Cameron, Babes Of Wrath

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

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

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

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

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

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

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

Video on Bandido vs. MJF.

Demand vs. JetSpeed/Anthony Bowens

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

 

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AEW Collision – January 3, 2026: Welcome To The New Home

Collision
Date: January 3, 2026
Location: eSports Stadium Arlington, Arlington, Texas
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Tony Schiavone

It’s the start of another residency as Collision will be here for a few weeks at least. That can make for some interesting crowd reactions but at least this seemed to be a pretty nice venue the first time around. Hopefully that is the case here again as we’re starting with Darby Allin vs. Wheeler Yuta. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

The Timeless Love Bombs, Dante Martin, Shelton Benjamin and Darby Allin are ready to fight.

AEW, Collision, Clon, Don Callis Family, Angelico, Serpentico

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Clon vs. Angelico

Angelico works on the arm to start and they trade legsweeps, allowing Clon to pose. A running clothesline drops Angelico and a step up moonsault gives Clon two. They trade chops until Clon hits a Pele kick, followed by a torture rack bomb (ala Hologram) for the pin at 3:29.

Rating: C+. They didn’t have time to do much here, but Clon did look good. I’m not sure how long it’s going to be before Hologram gets back, but it should make for a pretty awesome showdown if they do it right. For now though, they did a nice job to start the anticipation, with Clon having a dominant debut.

Post match Clon stomps on Angelico’s partner Serpentico but Komander runs in for the save.

Jon Moxley talks about how you get something special out of the Continental Classic and the title has a very high price tag. He’s getting ready to face Shelton Benjamin on Dynamite and while there is pretty much nothing he does better than Benjamin, it’s going to take a lot more than hurting him.

AEW, Collision, Timeless Love Bombs, Mina Shirakawa, Toni Storm, Hyan, Maya World

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Timeless Love Bombs vs. Hyan/Maya World

Shirakawa and World start things off with Shirakawa getting in a bit of dancing. World gets taken down and it’s quickly off to Storm vs. Hyan. The Bombs start taking turns beating on Hyan, with Storm dropping Shirakawa onto her for two. A running hip attack sends Hyan outside and Shirakawa hits a big dive to take them both out on the floor.

We take a break and come back with Shirakawa being dropped onto World’s knees for two. That doesn’t seem to do much though as Shirakawa gets over to Storm for the house cleaning. A bulldog into a basement dropkick cuts Storm off though and a Blockbuster/Russian legsweep combination gets two. Shirakawa comes back in with a double missile dropkick and Storm hits the running hip attack. Storm Zero finishes World at 9:07.

Rating: B-. World and Hyan are starting to get a bit more comfortable around here and that’s nice to see. They’re a fine team to add to the division and while they have a long way to go, it’s better than nothing. At the very least, the keep the bigger teams from losing important matches so nice job on bringing in some extra names.

Post match respect is shown but the entrances for the next match cut off the Bombs’ celebration.

Marina Shafir/Megan Bayne vs. Rache Chanel/Londyn Dior

Points for the themed jobber names. Shafir strikes Dior down to start and it’s quickly off to Bayne for the shoulders in the corner. Everything breaks down and Chanel is Fate’s Descented into Mother’s Milk (Shafir: “Give it to me baby.”) for the tap at 1:27.

The Don Callis Family beat up some jobbers in the back and Josh Alexander gives Hechicero a pep talk.

Komander vs. Hechicero

For a TNT Title shot. Hechicero wastes no time in pulling him down into la majistral for two, with Komander getting his own rollup for the same. They trade cradles into a near fall into a standoff but Komander sends him outside. Back in and Hechicero takes him into the corner, where Komander comes out with a rather springboardy hurricanrana. Komander sends him outside again and tries a slingshot hurricanrana, which is countered into a toss powerbomb into the barricade.

We take a break and come back with Komander kicking away but getting rolled into a bow and arrow. That’s switched into an armbar to keep Komander in trouble but he gets to the rope. Hechicero hits the arm and he falls outside, with Komander hitting the big rope walk dive. Back in and a sunset bomb gives Komander two but Hechicero is back with the swinging hammerlock backbreaker. Komander gets in a knockdown of his own and goes up, only for Clon to run in and shove him off the top. Hechicero hits a running knee, followed by a spinning arm trap rollup for the win at 13:36.

Rating: B. Much like the opener (albeit a good bit longer), this was an entertaining match between two people who know how to do this style. Hechicero winning makes for a better match for Mark Briscoe anyway, as he already has the whole ordeal with the Don Callis Family. As usual Komander is good for a solid match even in defeat and this was fun stuff.

Max Caster and Anthony Bowens are on assignments to build them up as a team, including saying nice things about each other and going on a scavenger hunt. It doesn’t work well as they keep getting in arguments, with Caster using a bunch of hand sanitizer.

Here are Eddie Kingston and Ortiz for a chat. After Kingston acknowledges two birthday fans in the crowd (that’s a nice touch), Kingston thanks Ortiz for keeping him from quitting this company over and over. They’re coming for the Grizzled Young Veterans, but Kingston keeps getting mad at Tony Schiavone for not holding the mic up (Kingston: “Flair must have hated you.”).

Big Bill and Bryan Keith laugh off the idea of Kingston having someone to watch his back. For now though, they want to take out JetSpeed, as someone has put a bounty on JetSpeed. Commentary thinks it’s Don Callis.

JetSpeed vs. Big Bill/Bryan Keith

Bailey and Keith start things off with Bailey elbowing him down. Keith cuts off a tag attempt though and everything breaks down, with Keith being sent outside. Some kicks put Bill on the floor but he’s back in with a swinging Boss Man Slam to Bailey. Eye gouging on the floor has Bailey in more trouble and we take a break.

We come back with Bill missing some charges in the corner, allowing the tag off to Bailey. The comeback doesn’t last long though as Bill kicks him in the face, with Knight having to make the save. Stereo dives take the villains down again but Keith strikes away at Bailey for two. Bailey kicks Keith down though and the UFO Splash finishes for Knight at 12:04.

Rating: C+. Nice tag match here, though it’s frustrating to see Knight and Bill brought back just to take another loss. At the same time, at least it was to a team like JetSpeed, who already have some success together. It’s a fine enough match and JetSpeed can do the high flying thing rather well, with Knight being a treat to watch.

The Grizzled Young Veterans are ready to fight Eddie Kingston and Ortiz, including threats to Kingston’s knee.

Video on the Hangman Page/Swerve Strickland vs. the Opps, setting up Wednesday’s lights out match.

Dante Martin vs. Shelton Benjamin

Christopher Daniels and MVP are here too. Benjamin shrugs off a lariat to start so Martin goes with a takedown instead. That’s enough to send Benjamin outside, only to have Benjamin come back in with a hard shoulder. Martin tries to go up top but gets knocked off to the floor as we take a break. We come back with Martin diving into a backbreaker and we see that Martin ignored a chance to walk out during the break, even asking if Benjamin’s mother raised a b****. A suplex sends Martin flying and the superkick finishes him off at 10:44.

Rating: C. This was pretty much an extended squash and that’s what it should have been with Benjamin set for his big match with Moxley next week. Benjamin is someone who has quite the reputation and has been treated seriously in AEW, so it wasn’t much of a step up to the next level. I’m rather pleased that he smashed through Martin like this, as that’s what makes perfect sense in this case.

Post match MVP asks for some applause for Martin and Benjamin shakes his hand, allowing Martin to leave in peace. With Martin gone, MVP talks about how Jon Moxley is a tough man, but Benjamin is different. Benjamin is going to hurt Moxley. This match has me intrigued.

Sammy Guevara is tired of the wrong people getting chances and wants to be World Champion. Bandido comes up and says he can have a shot.

Tony Schiavone reads a statement from Stokley Hathaway, who was injured at Worlds End and is at the Vivian Banks Medical Center, where he has over $400,000 worth of bills. See Tony Schiavone, who has nothing to do after the show but drink, to help pay them off.

Here’s what’s coming on Dynamite.

Darby Allin vs. Wheeler Yuta

Jon Moxley is on commentary. Allin knocks Yuta to the floor to start, where a Marina Shafir distraction lets Yuta get in a cheap shot. Back in and Allin dropkicks him into the corner but Yuta gets in a backdrop to send Allin face first down. We take a break and come back with Allin hitting a springboard elbow but Shafir interferes again.

This time it’s enough to get an ejection but here is Toni Storm (Moxley: “SHE’S NUTS!”) to cut her off. Daniel Garcia joins us at ringside as Yuta gets a Scorpion Deathlock. That’s escaped so Yuta catapults him into the corner, with Allin coming back with a double stomp. The Coffin Drop connects for two, as Allin pulls him up and grabs the Scorpion for the tap at 11:40.

Rating: B-. The match didn’t feel overly important, though I did get a solid laugh out of Moxley’s reaction to Storm. Allin making relatively quick work of Yuta is fine, as he gets to move on to his requested match with Pac. It works well enough for a Collision main event, which is often the case for Allin.

Overall Rating: B-. This was a show where it was more about setting things up for later rather than what happened here. That’s a fine way to go, as the upcoming Dynamite is feeling like a major show. Sometimes you need a show like this to get things ready and it worked well enough. It’s not a show that you should go out of your way to watch, but there is far worse wrestling to spend two hours watching.

Results
Clon b. Angelico – Torture rack bomb
Timeless Love Bombs b. Hyan/Maya World – Storm Zero to World
Marina Shafir/Megan Bayne b. Rache Chanel/Londyn Dior – Mother’s Milk to Chanel
Hechicero b. Komander – Arm trap rollup
Shelton Benjamin b. Dante Martin – Superkick
Darby Allin b. Wheeler Yuta – Scorpion Deathlock

 

 

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AEW Worlds End 2025 Preview

So we wrap up the AEW year with this one, which is more or less the end of the Continental Classic, the World Title match, and a bunch of other stuff that happens to be taking place on the show. The tournament has taken over the company (as it always does) and while it has gone well (as it always does), it has made quite a bit around here feel a lot less important. For now though, we should be in for some solid action so let’s get to it.

Zero Hour: Zack Gibson vs. Eddie Kingston

This was added on this week’s Ring Of Honor as the Grizzled Young Veterans attacked Kingston. I’m not sure how much of a build this match really needs, but at least it’s something that gets Kingston in the ring. The fans are going to respond to him rather well and it helps him get back into the groove of things, which he has been needing since his return from injury.

There’s no reason to believe that Kingston is going to lose here so I’ll take the obvious with Kingston getting the win. He’s fighting half of a low level tag team in a match that shouldn’t go much longer than about five minutes. In this case, AEW might even stick to the time frame, as Kingston has mainly been wrestling shorter matches. He’ll get another win here, as he should.

Zero Hour: Sisters Of Sin vs. Hyan/Maya World

Here we have another match where it doesn’t feel like there is much to doubt as the Zero Hour continues to feel like a glorified episode of Rampage. I’m still not sure why we need to have the Sisters get a featured match here, but maybe they’re next in line to come after the Women’s Tag Team Titles. If nothing else, they’re already an established team so there are far worse ideas out there.

Of course I’ll take the Sisters to win, as while the division needs some fresh blood, there is no reason to think that the Sisters should lose here. They’re a fairly featured team and it would make sense for them to get a win here, especially if they might be coming for the titles soon. Hyan and Worlds continue to get time in the ring and I’ve heard worse ideas, even if there is a chance that it’s just to spite Miranda Alize and Nixon Newell.

Death Riders vs. Conglomeration/Roderick Strong/Toni Storm

So this is a thing and yes it is indeed called the Mixed Nuts Mayhem match, because if there’s one thing that you need for a Death Riders match, it’s a funny moniker. It’s likely going to be a wild brawl with some interesting bits, though I’m still completely good with not seeing Daniel Garcia and/or Wheeler Yuta for a long time. Throw in Claudio Castagnoli going from a dark horse to win the Continental Classic to this and it’s a bit of a downgrade.

I’ll take the heroes to win here, just for the sake of not having Storm lose again. Mark Briscoe could use a win of his own and the fans will always respond to Orange Cassidy, so it makes a bit of sense to get them on the card. Hopefully the match winds up being more goofy fun than anything else, as that’s probably the best way to feature most of them. Either that or Yuta and/or Garcia being beaten up rather badly.

Darby Allin vs. Gabe Kidd

This is kind of a weird story, as Allin was gone for most of the tournament but he’s able to be back to face Kidd in this match. I’m not sure how much I need to see Allin get beaten up again, but it’s pretty much his standard operating procedure. That’s probably what we’re going to be seeing in this one, though it’s a bit weird as Kidd just showed up again after being gone for months and is facing Allin again.

I’m not sure where to go here, though I’ll take Allin, as he could use a win after quite a long stretch of nothing good. Granted it also depends on if Kidd is sticking around, as he could use a nice victory of his own. Given what we know at the moment though, I’ll take Allin to get the come from behind win, as it’s easy to get behind him fighting a bully and that’s what we’re getting here.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Babes Of Wrath(c) vs. Athena/Mercedes Mone

This one has me intrigued, as the Babes are the new team and the inaugural champions, though it’s almost hard to imagine Mone or Athena losing again. Mone is already on a losing streak but there isn’t much value in beating her without a title on the line. At the same time you have Athena, who hasn’t done much in Ring Of Honor as of late but doesn’t have the best history in AEW.

I’ll go with the champions to retain here, as it would be something of a stretch to have them lose the titles so soon after they started. Hopefully it winds up being a good match, as the Babes have gone from newly formed to a rather nice team in short order. They need some time to establish themselves a bit better before dropping the titles though and that can be done when they win here.

AEW, Worlds End, FTR, Bang Bang Gang, Stokely Hathaway, Austin Gunn, Juice Robinson

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Tag Team Titles: FTR(c) vs. Bang Bang Gang

It’s a street fight and a rematch from a few weeks ago when FTR beat the Gang to retain the titles. That doesn’t make for the best reason to do the match again, but it isn’t like FTR has anything else to do at the moment. With so many people involved in the tournament, there are some tag teams who are more than a bit busy. Hopefully that changes shortly after the tournament, but this is what we have for now.

Much like when they fought a few weeks ago, I see no reason to believe that FTR is going to lose to the leftovers of the Bang Bang Gang so we’ll go with FTR retaining. I like the Gang for the most part, but they’re only going to get so far with one of the Gunns and Juice Robinson going for the titles. FTR wins here, in what should at least be an entertaining match.

AEW, Worlds End, Jamie Hayter, Kris Statlander

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Women’s Title: Kris Statlander(c) vs. Jamie Hayter

The title is on the line here, but it only feels so important. The Women’s Title hasn’t felt overly important in a good while, which is at least partially due to how much else is going on in the women’s division. Statlander is still going well, but she needs to do something that makes her stand out a bit more. I’m just not sure that’s what we’re going to be seeing here.

While I’m not sure it’s going to work out, I’ll take Statlander to retain here. As much as she doesn’t seem to be doing much at the moment, Hayter is hardly doing that much better. Either of them could be fine as champion, but they’re going to need to step up it up. The tag division, plus whatever Toni Storm is doing, both feel more important and that needs to change. For now though, I’ll take Statlander in a coin flip.

Kazuchika Okada, AEW, Worlds End, Konosuke Takeshita, Continental Classic

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Continental Classic Semifinals: Konosuke Takeshita vs. Kazuchika Okada

I’m not even going to begin to try to make sense of the title situation here, if nothing else due to how ridiculous it’s been. This has been built up as a big time match for a good while now and that should make things all the more interesting. It’s nice to have a match that feels like it’s taking place more due to people having issues rather than a schedule saying they’re fighting. Or at least it’s close enough.

I’ll take….geez I guess Okada here, as all of the hype about him being the GREATEST TOURNAMENT WRESTLER OF ALL TIME all but guarantees him a spot in the finals. At the same time, it’s hard to fathom the IWGP World Champion being allowed to lose, especially around a week before Wrestle Kingdom. I’ll go with Okada winning here, though it doesn’t feel like anything close to a lock.

Continental Classic Semifinals: Jon Moxley vs. Kyle Fletcher

This is the kind of thing that could go either way, but it feels more like a way to get Moxley back on track. He’s been having all kinds of issues as of late and it would be nice to see him at least get to the finals. At the same time, Fletcher is in a place where it wouldn’t be insane to see him beat Moxley. That’s quite the accomplishment, and it’s nice to have a match which could go either way.

I think I’ll go with Moxley winning here, as his attempts to get back on track feel like a better story at the moment. At the same time, it’s a bit hard to fathom an all Don Callis Family final, as it would feel fairly cold outside of Okada vs. Takeshita. Moxley wins here and sets up a pretty big final, though we’ll get to that later, as it should probably headline the show.

 

AEW World Title: Samoa Joe(c) vs. Swerve Strickland vs. Hangman Page vs. Maxwell Jacob Friedman

I’m not sure what it means that I keep forgetting Joe is the World Champion but that has happened multiple times in a fairly short reign. Joe is already a two time World Champion and he still feels like something of a forgotten part of the match. Maybe it’s due to being part of the Trios Champions or facing a two man team of heroes or maybe it’s MJF feeling like such a big deal, but it might be time to get the title off of Joe.

At the end of the day, it’s almost hard to fathom anyone but MJF leaving as champion here. He returned a few weeks ago and immediately stood out and it would make sense to put the title back on him (assuming he’s sticking around full time). MJF hasn’t been champion in a good while now and he’s already feeling like one of the top names in AEW. Give him the title back and see what he can do with it.

Continental Classic Finals: Jon Moxley vs. Kazuchika Okada

Again, I’m not even going to try to figure out how the title situation works (and for the love of all things good and holy, please don’t explain it to me), but it seems that Okada leaves with a title one way or another. That gives him quite the out in possibly losing here and it’s not like him losing the Continental Title is going to hurt in any meaningful way. He’s been champion pretty much forever so it’s time to get it off of him.

As you can probably guess, I’m going with Moxley winning here, as it splits up some titles and hopefully clarifies things a bit. If nothing else, I could go for getting rid of the whole Unified Title or whatever happens here, as there are FAR too many titles in AEW already. Moxley needs the win anyway and it could be a big step in what feels like the start of a face turn for him anyway, because that’s what the world is waiting to see.

Overall Thoughts

It’s pretty clear that the Continental Classic has been carrying the show for the last month or so, if nothing else due to the amount of talent involved. At the same time, it hasn’t exactly done much good for everything else in the company. The top of the card feels big enough, but they’re going to need someone to step up to bolster the undercard. Thankfully that’s where AEW tends to thrive so I’m cautiously optimistic about this one.

 

 

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

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