Ring of Honor
Date: October 6, 2021
Location: 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

I’m not sure what to expect from this show these days and that can be rather interesting. It’s never clear what you’re going to get and thankfully Ring of Honor knows how to give you the best out of everything they offer. If that can be the case again this week, we should be in for another fun show. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Violence Unlimited issues an open challenge for tonight. Danhausen comes in, realizes he’s in the wrong place, and leaves.

We get a preview, minus Quinn McKay.

Taylor Rust/Alex Zayne vs. Briscoes

Rust and Zayne talk about being ready to step up against the Briscoes as Zayne is on his way to the World Title. The Briscoes tell them to bring it and be made famous. Rust and Mark start things off with the latter not being able to get very far off of a leg dive attempt. A headlock takeover works better for Mark but Zayne is right back up with a modified abdominal stretch.

That’s broken up and Mark unloads with some chops into the corner. Jay unloads for a bit as well but it’s already back to Mark for two off a suplex. Jay’s front facelock keeps Rust in trouble but he fights up and gets over to Zayne for the tag. Everything breaks down and they head outside, with Jay sending Zayne hard into the barricade to put him in trouble for a change. Rust gets kicked in the face as well and they head back inside, where Zayne gets belly to belly suplexed for two. Jay adds a running kick to the face but Zayne flips out of a belly to back suplex.

The hot tag brings in Rust to clean house and a Rings of Saturn with the legs has Mark in more trouble. That’s broken up and everything breaks down again. Rust is knocked outside with the Briscoes following him, allowing Zayne to springboard moonsault onto both of them. Back in and a running flip super hurricanrana gets two on Mark but Rust has to escape the Jay Driller. Jay isn’t having that though and hits the Jay Driller, setting up the Froggy Bow to finish Mark at 10:54.

Rating: B-. They hit each other hard and Zayne/Rust did well in a match they had next to no chance to winning. Sometimes that is the kind of match you need to see on a show and it is always nice to see the Briscoes. Rather nice TV match here and Zayne is already a far bigger deal here than he ever was in WWE.

Danhausen recruits PCO, Sledge and Demonic Flamita to face Violence Unlimited.

Here is Rok-C for her first interview as Women’s Champion (and having her stand next to Brian Zane isn’t the best idea as he towers over her). She sounds rather nervous as she talks about how hard she has worked to get here. Now that she has proven she isn’t a cliché, she is ready to face anyone. The C in Rok-C used to stand for Confident but now it stands for Champion.

Cue the Allure to say this is their house and the C stands for…something they can’t say on TV. Cue Miranda Alize, Trish Adora, Willow and Allysin Kay, followed by Maria Kanellis Bennett. The boss makes a pair of triple threats with the winners meeting for the Final Battle Women’s Title shot. It was nice to not have everyone talk here, as the ending didn’t really require them to say anything.

During the break, Alize jumped Rok-C like a good villain should.

Violence Unlimited vs. Danhausen/Sledge/PCO/Demonic Flamita

Violence Unlimited doesn’t like PCO being involved. Homicide and Danhausen start things off with Danhausen’s waistlock confusing Homicide a bit. A cutter into a t-bone suplex rocks Homicide and he has to go to the ropes to escape an STF. Tony Deppen and Flamita come in with the latter hitting a hard shoulder. They trade some very fast covers before it’s a double nip up for a standoff.

Deppen’s basement dropkick gets two and it’s Dickinson coming in for an elbow to the mask. Flamita kicks his way out of trouble and brings Sledge in to suplex Dickinson in a nice power display. Dickinson is back with a middle rope dropkick to put Sledge in trouble and the chopping is on in the corner. A DDT gives Dickinson two and Homicide adds a knee to the back.

Sledge’s clothesline gives him a breather and he kicks Homicide into the corner, allowing the hot tag to PCO. That means a chop off with King, who gets powerbombed for two. King is right back up with a piledriver…and PCO malfunctions, causing him to go in the wrong corner and take King’s tag. PCO starts beating up his own partners and the PCOsault…kind of hits Sledge? The miss seems to wake PCO up and it’s Danhausen coming in to clean house. It’s time for the parade of secondary finishers, with PCO back to normal. Another PCOsault is broken up and King Ganso Bombs Sledge for the pin at 15:05.

Rating: C+. Fun enough here, though the PCO thing might make your head hurt a bit. That being said, this was never meant to be anything serious (matches involving Danhausen rarely are) so it’s hard to be that critical about something not making sense. Good enough main event for a show like this and the right team won.

Overall Rating: B-. Some nice action, a story for the new Women’s Champion and Danhausen make this an entertaining week. Ring of Honor never reinvents the wheel, but they do their thing well enough that it works out well most of the time. I liked the show and didn’t have anything that got on my nerves, so we’ll call this a nice show.

Thomas Hall has been a wrestling fan for over thirty years and has seen over 60,000 wrestling matches. He has also been a wrestling reviewer since 2009 with over 6,000 full shows covered. You can find his work at kbwrestlingreviews.com, or check out his- Amazon author page with 30 wrestling books.

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Ring of Honor
Date: July 28, 2021
Location: UMBC Event Center, Baltimore, Maryland
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

These shows run together pretty badly most weeks, but I’m kind of looking forward to watching it most weeks. It feels like a show where you know you’re going to get something at least pretty good, putting it ahead of most these days. Coming in with low expectations and leaving happy is not a bad thing so maybe the can continue their streak here. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

We recap Mandy Leon cheating to beat Quinn McKay last week, with an assist from Angelina Love.

The Allure laughs off the idea that McKay was a challenge and that’s it for her.

Quinn McKay keeps the welcome short this week because she got hit in the head with brass knuckles. The only thing more painful than that is knowing her chances to be Women’s Champion are gone. We get the show rundown as usual.

Flip Gordon vs. World Famous CB

Before the match, Gordon says he has nothing to say until he gets his World Title shot. CB promises to make Gordon a victim. Gordon drives him into the corner to start before going to the test of strength. Some flipping around gives CB two and we take a break. Back with CB grabbing a few armdrags into an armbar, setting up some arm cranking.

Gordon isn’t having that and kicks CB into the corner for the boot choking. They head outside with Gordon hitting an ax handle off the barricade but missing a charge into the post back inside. CB is smart enough to go right back to the arm, including a hard stomp. Gordon has had it though and hits a quick Kinder Surprise, setting up Submit To Flip for the tap at 11:13.

Rating: C. This was a fine enough match with Gordon getting a win after shaking off some trouble. The problem here was Gordon was in trouble with the arm and then suddenly went to his finishers. You shouldn’t have a ton of issues with CB, but the transition to the ending could have been better. They’re doing a good job at getting the STF over though, which should work well in the World Title match.

The Bouncers and Ken Dixon invade the commentary booth and demand they be talked about a lot more. They’re coming for the Six Man and Tag Team Titles.

Flip Gordon still has nothing to say.

Sledge vs. PCO

Danhausen is on commentary (oh dear). Sledge isn’t impressed by PCO, who shouts a lot and seems to promise violence. Oh and IT’S ALIVE IT’S ALIVE! PCO takes him down to start, with Danhausen taking credit for the mat skills. Sledge is back up with some shots to the face, which Danhausen would not recommend.

A hard collision sends us to a break and we come back with PCO hitting a powerslam into a running basement dropkick for two. They chop it out as Danhausen talks about how PCO can help him get more bags of money. A running corner clothesline sets up a t-bone suplex but PCO pops back up. PCO wins a slugout and hits some Vader running body attacks but the chokeslam is blocked.

Instead PCO shoves him outside as Danhausen has to get around swearing. The flip dive onto the apron actually connects to crush Sledge again, who is driven into the apron a few times. A poke to the eyes gets Sledge out of trouble and he drops PCO onto the concrete. PCO is back up (as he tends to do) and they shove the referee for the double DQ at 12:16.

Rating: C. This is the kind of thing I can go for as they beat each other up rather hard for a long time. They went with the hoss fight here and that’s about as good as you’re going to get out of PCO at the moment. PCO has a weird charisma to him but he can only do so much. It was a fun brawl though, and that’s what PCO should be doing.

Post match, the brawl is on again and has to be broken up by security.

Post break, Sledge says that isn’t over.

Dak Draper vs. Dalton Castle vs. Eli Isom

The Six Man Tag Team Title challengers from Best In The World explodes. Draper wants titles and blames the other two for not having them. Isom knew something was up with the other two. Castle promises to make people take notice. The dancing Boys rip off Castle’s shirt and we’re ready to go. It’s a brawl to start with Draper knocking Castle outside and Isom doing the same to Draper.

Isom follows with a dive but Castle is back in with a suplex to send Isom into the corner. Draper adds a flapjack to Isom and kicks Castle off the apron, meaning it’s time for some Boys attention. Castle comes back in to start throwing suplexes but Isom catches him on top with a dropkick.

A belly to back suplex brings Castle back down, only to have Draper kick Isom in the face. Back in and Isom hits a spinning belly to back suplex to drop Draper. Another dropkick puts Draper on the floor and there’s a middle rope moonsault to take him down again. Castle is back with a chair to Isom but Draper isn’t having that. The Boys get on the apron and it’s the Magnum Drop to plant Isom for the pin at 6:50, which seems to please the Boys (and maybe Castle).

Rating: C. Nothing much to see here, but the ending seems to suggest something is up with Draper and Castle. Or maybe not as Castle can be a little weird. Draper winning is nice to see, but hopefully it does not mean the end for Isom. He has been a lot of fun to watch as he rises up the ranks, but I could see a longer Draper vs. Isom feud too.

We run down the Women’s Championship tournament lineup to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. It’s not often that everything gets the same rating and it’s all in the middle in this case. That’s a good way to put this show: completely average with nothing you need to see, though at least some things were moved forward. It was definitely weaker than their recent efforts, but it was by no means a bad show. It’s nice to not have to worry about things sliding down again, as I have every confidence things will be back to normal (as in the new normal) next week.

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Best In The World 2021
Date: July 11, 2021
Location: UMBC Event Center, Baltimore, Maryland
Attendance: 1,250
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

It’s time for the fans to be back here as well, which should make things a little more energetic. Ring of Honor has been one of the more consistently quality TV shows as of late and now they need to make that work on television as well. That might be easier said than done though so let’s get to it.

It really is cool to see some fans back.

Tracy Williams is out of the Tag Team Title match due to being hit by a car a few weeks back, so Jay Lethal will be defending in his place.

Pre-Show: Demonic Flaimta vs. Rey Horus

This is a rematch from the Survival of the Fittest qualifying round. Horus knocks him to the floor to start and snaps off a hurricanrana from the apron. Flamita gets whipped into the barricade but he is fine enough to dropkick Horus out of the air back inside. A running kick to the head gives Flamita a rather arrogant near fall and it’s time to slap Horus in the mask. Flamita stays cocky and cuts Horus down with some chops. Horus gets back up for a middle rope bodyscissors to the floor, naturally setting up the big no hands dive.

Back in and Horus hits a crazy springboard spinning tornado DDT for two. They get back up and slug it out until Flamita gets in a sitout powerbomb for two of his own. A frog splash onto Horus’ lets leaves both of them down until they slug it out from their knees. Back to back superkicks rock Horus, who grabs a satellite DDT for two more. Horus goes up top and gets pulled down with the MuscleBuster into the knees to the chest. Another superkick gives Flamita two so he tries another, only to get sunset flipped to give Horus the pin at 9:49.

Rating: B-. Take two luchadors and let them fly all over the place for about ten minutes. What better way is there to wake up a crowd for the rest of the night? Ring of Honor, like many other promotions before it, knew what they needed to do here and it worked out again. These guys were all over the place and that’s exactly what they should have been doing.

Post match Flamita drops Horus again and even spits on him.

Bouncers vs. PCO/Danhausen

The Bouncers have Ken Dixon with him. Brawler Milonas jumps PCO before the bell and it’s Danhausen in early trouble. Beer City Bruiser comes in to slam Danhausen, allowing Brawler to send him into the corner by the neck. A running clothesline drops Danhausen again and it’s time to choke on the ropes. It’s off to Bruiser for a clothesline of his own and it’s a Samoan drop into Brawler’s falling splash.

Danhausen avoids a charge in the corner though and manages a German suplex, allowing the hot tag to PCO. Striking abounds, setting up a crossbody of all things. PCO busts out a pair of dives onto both Bouncers and helps Danhausen chokeslam Bruiser. Cue Sledge to stare at PCO and Danhausen but Brawler takes PCO down.

Bruiser hits something like a Vader Bomb from the apron to the floor to crush PCO (egads), leaving Danhausen alone. Danhausen gets caught in a powerbomb from Brawler (Danhausen: “NO! PUT ME DOWN!”), which he slips out of to set up a hurricanrana off the apron and into the post. A quick pat wakes up PCO and Danhausen’s headbutt rocks Bruiser. Goodnighthausen is broken up so Danhausen manages an AA onto the teeth. The PCOsault finishes Bruiser at 9:05.

Rating: C. I can go for this kind of lighthearted comedy where they make no secret about what they are doing. Yeah it’s goofy but that’s the point, as Danhausen is in the exact right spot. If you want to have him team with PCO as a goofy team for awhile then so be it, as they aren’t going to win the titles or anything. Have some fun and don’t go anywhere beyond that.

Post match, PCO and Sledge have their staredown with Danhausen breaking it up.

The opening video looks at some of the bigger matches. They’re keeping it simple here.

PJ Black/Brian Johnson vs. Briscoe Brothers

The Brothers are back on the same page after beating each other up on their farm. Johnson yells at the fans on the way to the ring, because they’re all fat people who got fatter during the pandemic. He doesn’t like the idiot Briscoes either because they all like kissing their cousin. We even get a few jabs at Mama Briscoe, which is not likely going to go well. Johnson brags about being the best in the ring and on the mic so everyone will know his name.

It’s a big brawl to start (again, you don’t mess with a mama) and the Briscoes get the better of it, because Black messed with Mama Briscoe. Mark uses a chair for a big dive to drop Johnson and we settle down to Mark chopping at him inside. Jay comes in for the uppercuts and Mark does the same, as Ian says Happy Birthday to his mom (who you shouldn’t mess with either).

It’s off to Black, who kicks Mark in the face a few times to take over. Johnson adds a slam into an elbow drop for two and the referee takes some yelling. Mark isn’t having that though and fights up to bring Jay back in. The yelling and fighting are both on with Jay getting the better of things on Johnson. Black breaks up Redneck Boogie and Jay accidentally knocks Mark outside.

Johnson’s rollup gets two and Black breaks up the Doomsday Device. The Spike Eskin plants Jay and sets up a 450 to give Black two of his own. Jay kicks Black off the apron and Mark hits the kick through the ropes to Black. The apron Blockbuster drops Johnson and there’s the Cactus Elbow. Back in and the Jay Driller into the Froggy Bow finishes Black at 8:06.

Rating: C. This could have been fine as a TV main event so it works out well for a pay per view opener. The main point here was to establish that the Briscoes are back on the same page, which is a nice followup after their Fight On The Farm. It didn’t have much drama, but should there be between these teams?

We recap EC3 vs. Flip Gordon. EC3 was not happy with Gordon cheating to win a tag match because it does not fit with EC3’s Quest For Honor. At least it’s better than whatever he had been doing in the past few months.

EC3 vs. Flip Gordon

I’m not big on either guy so let’s get this over with already. They shake hands to start, with Gordon pulling him into a headlock for the opening bell. A hard shoulder drops Gordon but he’s right back up with the headlock. Gordon goes after the knee to take over and unloads on him with chops in the corner. A Ricky Steamboat style double chop puts Gordon down again but he takes out the knee in the corner.

There’s a dropkick to the knee to put EC3 on the floor, with the fans not sounding pleased. The leg cranking is on back inside but EC3 powers out, meaning it’s off to a chop off. The Psycho Boy takes Gordon down but the knee gives out again, allowing Gordon to bail to the floor. Gordon sweeps the legs and wraps the knee around the post to take over again.

Back in and the Submit To Flip goes on until EC3 makes it over to the ropes. Gordon goes up but gets top rope superplexed back down for the big crash. Gordon’s springboard….something is chopped out of the air but the knee doesn’t let EC3 follow up. A low superkick rocks EC3, who smiles up at him. That means it’s an Angel’s Wings into the Purpose (Bank Statement) finishes Gordon at 11:14.

Rating: C+. They worked a nice match here and both guys looked good, though it wasn’t exactly a smash. EC3 sold the leg well as it messed with his offense, but I’m still not sure I get what he is doing. It seems to be working for him, but a bit clearer of an explanation would be nice.

Post match Gordon slaps him in the face instead of shaking his hand, so EC3 extends his hand again. Another slap gets the same result, so Gordon spits in his face and walks off.

Six Man Tag Team Titles: Dalton Castle/Eli Isom/Dak Draper vs. Shane Taylor Promotions

Shane Taylor Promotions (Taylor/Soldiers of Savagery (Moses/Khan), with O’Shay Edwards) are defending. Castle’s jumpsuit is back and so are the Dancing Boys, because they better be. Draper takes Khan to the mat to start as we hear about Khan being a prince in Cameroon. Khan goes with the power and runs him over, allowing the double tag off to Isom and Moses. A dropkick staggers Moses but Isom tries a waistlock for no apparent reasons.

Castle comes in instead and points out that the fans are chanting for him (not exactly). The threat of wrestling earns Castle a hard push back into the corner but he low bridges Moses outside. The tease of a dive lets Castle drop to to the floor and hop onto the barricade for some more dancing. Back in and Castle gets all fired up on Shane, who drops him with a single chop. Isom comes in again and is planted with a spinebuster, allowing Khan to come back in for a suplex.

It’s back to Draper, who snapmares Khan down to drop a knee to the face, allowing Castle to snap off a t-bone suplex. The fast tags continue with Isom coming back in for a belly to belly, but Castle wants to come in instead. The delay lets Moses come in and wreck the challengers as everything breaks down. Back in and Draper picks up the pace, along with Moses for a powerslam, only to be told that Shane made a blind tag.

For some reason Draper thinks he can Dr. Bomb Taylor, who easily reverses into the Marcus Garvey Driver instead. Castle breaks that up so Isom comes back in for a rather impressive Air Raid Crash….as Castle is being tended to by the Boys on the floor. Isom goes up instead of covering but has to shove Castle off for trying to go up at the same time. That’s enough for Khan to hit a super Jackhammer (geez) and it’s time for the parade of finishers. Taylor has had enough of this and hits Draper with Welcome To The Land to retain at 10:56.

Rating: C. This was a very story heavy match as Castle continues to be a bit of a self obsessed pest, but how can you not love the jumpsuit? Isom continues to look like a star in the making and Ring of Honor is about the only place he could make that work at the moment. I’m still not sure why these titles exist, but the match was ok enough.

We get an ad for Honor Pals, Ring of Honor’s version of Wrestling Buddies, because those are the greatest wrestling toys ever.

Silas Young vs. Josh Woods

Last Man Standing and this former mentor vs. former mentee. They even make things a bit more interesting by pointing out that Young is 3-0 in Last Man Standing matches, making it his signature match. Woods jumps him from behind in the aisle though, because woods is smart like that. Young gets sent hard into the barricade but he is right back up with a springboard clothesline to put Woods on the apron. A hard forearm to the back cuts Young down again and Woods knocks him outside again.

Woods grabs a chair but Young shoves the referee into him (smart) to take it away. A chaos suplex off the barricade drops Woods again and it’s time to set up a table. We’ll add a ladder next to the apron, with Ian explaining that it’s there to fix the lighting. Woods sends him into the ladder and throws in a table of his own. Said table is set up in the corner, followed by a bunch of running strikes to Young in the corner. Young picks him up for a drive through the table though and it’s time to slug it out from their knees.

Woods pulls him into a leglock with Young crawling underneath the ropes and tapping to no avail. Yet another table is set up next to the other one on the floor but Young gets in a low blow for a breather. For some reason Young tries a running hurricanrana and is quickly powerbombed onto the ladder for his efforts. Woods throws in a bunch of chairs but gets caught in a backbreaker back inside. A chair shot to the back has Woods in trouble and Young nails Misery for a nine count. They slug it out on the apron above the two tables….and Woods German suplexes Young through both of them for the win at 13:10.

Rating: B-. That’s how it should have gone as these guys beat each other up for a good while until Woods survived. They built up the idea that Young was the best guy at this kind of match and then had someone beat him. Woods has been ready to break through to the next level for a long time now, though I’m not sure if this is going to be the big step forward.

During Hour One, Vincent challenged Matt Taven to a cage match in August and then beat him down.

From the trainer’s room, Taven accepts.

Brody King vs. Jay Lethal

Tracy Williams is here with Lethal. King powers him down with no effort to start and tells Lethal to bring it. A strike off doesn’t work for Lethal either so it’s a very early Lethal Injection for one. King bails to the floor so Lethal hits four straight suicide dives. That isn’t enough to put King down so Lethal hits a baseball slide, which doesn’t put him down either. Instead, King knocks him down again and throws him over the top by the throat. Back in and Lethal is chopped down in the corner as he can’t get anything to work so far.

King hammers away in the corner but Lethal slips out of a superplex and hits a powerbomb. That doesn’t last long either as King is back with a snap piledriver. King pounds him into a chair and hits a running crossbody to knock them both down. A Death Valley Driver onto the apron gets two on Lethal and he can’t even stand up for the Ganso Bomb. That means a hard running lariat to knock Lethal even sillier, followed by a pair of Ganso Bombs for the pin at 10:43.

Rating: C+. The more I see from this version of King, the more I’m expecting him to be the Final Battle World Title challenger. He was treated like a monster here and basically squashed Lethal, whose biggest stuff didn’t do much damage. That’s the right way to go with this and the Ganso Bomb looks like the biggest weapon going at the moment. Nice job.

We recap Mike Bennett vs. Jonathan Gresham for the Pure Rules Title. Bennett won a Pure Rules gauntlet match to earn a title shot but Gresham flat out said he didn’t respect him. Bennett has heard that over and over again but Gresham says this is all about his legacy. Now it’s time for Bennett to prove him wrong.

Pure Rules Title: Mike Bennett vs. Jonathan Gresham

Gresham is defending and this is under Pure Rules, with an extended pay per view time limit. Cary Silkin of all people joins commentary as the fans seem split to start. An early lockup goes nowhere as they seem to be taking their time here. Gresham grabs a waistlock to start the grappling but gets taken to the mat without much effort. They pop back up with Bennett shouldering him down to make things seem a bit more serious.

The threat of a London Dungeon (seated armbar) sends Gresham going straight to the rope for the first break. Gresham pulls him down and starts cranking on the arm for some unnatural angles. An armdrag sets up a hammerlock and Gresham cranks on the other arm at the same time. Now it’s time to twist the ankle at the same time as Gresham’s confidence is going up. Back up and Gresham’s running shoulder hurts Bennett’s arm again.

The Kimura goes on so Bennett uses his first rope break in a smart move. Gresham is sent outside so Bennett tries a dive, only to get pulled back into the Kimura. Bennett taps to no avail before going back inside for another rope break for a bit of a weird sequence. Back up and Bennett goes for the arm as well, meaning Gresham needs his second break. Bennett uses the good arm to hit a Death Valley Driver for two and the seated armbar goes on again.

With that broken up, Bennett clotheslines him down but the arm gives out on a piledriver attempt. Another clothesline gets two on Gresham but the arm is banged up. Gresham is smart enough to use his feet to pop the arm and Bennett is in a lot of trouble. The Cobra Twist sends Bennett to the ropes for the third and final time so a pair of springboard standing moonsaults have Bennett knocked to the floor. Gresham adds a suicide dive but Bennett is right back up with a powerbomb for two.

That’s fine with Gresham, who pulls him into the Crossface. Somehow Bennett crawls out and rolls Gresham into the corner. The piledriver connects for three…but Gresham gets his foot on the ropes for his final break. Gresham switches it up and pops the knee this tine but Bennett stacks him up on a rollup attempt for two of his own. With the arm not working, Gresham ties him in a nasty looking kneebar for the tap to retain at 19:21.

Rating: B. There is something so fun about watching Gresham pick apart a limb like that as he turns it into a science. Bennett was trying hard here but got taken down piece by piece, with Gresham taking him apart to win in the end. This was a heck of a performance and it is great to see him do it every time. The problem is I’m not sure who is going to be able to beat him, as he is virtually unstoppable in this kind of a match. In other words, whoever takes the title from him is going to look awesome and get a heck of a rub.

Jay Lethal is too banged up to defend the Tag Team Titles so Tracy Williams asks Jonathan Gresham to take his place. Gresham reluctantly agrees.

TV Title: Tony Deppen vs. Dragon Lee

Deppen is defending, Lee has La Bestia de la Ring in his corner and Kenny King is on commentary. They go straight to the slugout to start with neither being able to get very far with the forearms. They try chops instead with Lee knocking him into the corner, where Deppen reverses for more chops of his own. Lee gets knocked outside so Deppen follows him, only to get kicked in the chest.

Deppen pounds him down again, setting up a suicide Canadian Destroyer, which is only good for two because the Destroyer is more played out than the DDT. Back in and Lee is fine enough to hit a shotgun dropkick in the corner. With Deppen in trouble, Lee puts him on top for an Alberto double stomp to the apron (dang that always looks rough) but Deppen is right back in with a small package for two.

It’s bad enough that King heads to the ring for a distraction so it’s an exchange of no sold German suplexes. Lee hits a poisonrana but Deppen pops back up for the double clothesline to put them both down. Back up and Lee kicks the knee out the Dragon Driver gets two more as frustration is setting in. More kicks just fire Deppen up and he chops away, only to get suplexed into a powerbomb. The Incinerator gives Lee the title back at 10:10.

Rating: C+. This was a spotfest and that might get a little annoying in a hurry. What are you supposed to do when a match features a suicide Canadian Destroyer for two? They weren’t even bother to sell a lot of the time here and while I get the idea, it was hardly the best thing to see. Entertaining perhaps, but it took me out of things more than once.

King comes in to celebrate so here are Homicide and Chris Dickinson to chase them off. They’re challenging for the Tag Team Titles next so here are the champs to start the match less than two minutes after the previous one ended.

Tag Team Titles: Foundation vs. Violence Unlimited

Rhett Titus and Jonathan Gresham are defending for the Foundation in a Fight Without Honor (basically a street fight). The brawl is on in a hurry with Gresham beating Dickinson up on the floor. That leaves Titus to send Homicide into a chair in the ring as the violence begins. Dickinson catches Titus on top though and shoves him into an open chair (freaking ow man) but Gresham is back in with an abdominal stretch on Homicide.

With that broken up, Gresham kicks the chairs out….as Titus gives Homicide a Falcon Arrow through the timekeeper’s table. Back in and Dickinson chokes Gresham with I believe a shirt but can’t quite get an armbar. The Death Valley Driver gets two on Gresham and Homicide is back with a super cutter on Titus. That’s not even good for a cover as Titus is up with a powerslam with Dickinson having to make a save. Titus goes Rob Van Dam with a dropkick into a chair (not quite a Van Daminator but close enough), leaving Gresham to Octopus Homicide.

Dickinson breaks it up again and it’s a camel clutch into a Homicide basement dropkick. An STF has Gresham in more trouble and Homicide throws in a table, which Gresham shoves out while still in the hold. Gresham won’t tap so Homicide busts out a fork but Titus breaks it up with a gutwrench suplex. Titus sets up the table but Dickinson breaks up a superplex attempt, meaning it’s a super Razor’s Edge to send Titus crashing through the table. Homicide busts out the always terrifying Cop Killer on Gresham for the pin and the titles at 11:01.

Rating: C. I couldn’t get into this as it was like they had two different matches going on at once. Gresham was trying to do his technical stuff and the other three were having a hardcore brawl (makes sense for Homicide and Dickinson). It also felt like they were flying through everything here to get things done in a hurry, especially with the fast start. Not bad or anything but I couldn’t get into this.

Here is Maria Kanellis-Bennett to introduce former Ring of Honor broadcaster Lenny Leonard, who will be calling the Women’s Title tournament. We even have brackets!

Sumie Sakai
Rok-C

Mandy Leon
Vita VonStarr

Max
Holidead

Angelina Love
BYE

Alize
Gracia

Mazzerati
Nicole Savoy

Allysin Kay
Willow

Marti Belle
Adora

Some of those are missing first/last names but that’s as much as we get.

Actually hold on though as Vita VonStarr is out due to breaking rules, so we have a replacement: Chelsea Green, who says this is what freedom looks like. She just spent two and a half years being deemed unworthy so she is here to prove that she is enough. The Maryland Athletic Commission has deemed her unfit to compete, but she will be ringside throughout the tournament watching everyone. Her scars remind her that she is unstoppable and in one month, she is taking this division to the forefront of wrestling. So we still don’t know who is getting the final spot.

We recap the World Title match. Bandido won Survival of the Fittest to earn the shot and he is coming for the unstoppable Rush.

Ring of Honor World Title: Rush vs. Bandido

Bandido is challenging and gets jumped at the bell, with Rush hitting the Bull’s Horns at six seconds for a one count as he pulls his foot off of Bandido’s chest. They head outside with Bandido being whipped into the barricade to take the beating into the crowd. Back to ringside and a heck of a whip sends Bandido into the barricade, setting up the whipping with the camera cord.

They get back inside with Rush cockily kicking away and stomping on Bandido’s head. There’s another kick to the face in the corner and Rush is feeding off of the crowd. Bandido falls outside and Rush cracks him in the leg with a chair. More playing to the crowd lets Bandido get up for a desperation dive, his first offense in about five minutes. Back in and a shooting star press gets two on Rush as the leg is mostly fine. Rush grabs (kind of) him low to ask where something is but charges into an attempt at the X Knee.

That’s broken up as Rush hits a superkick instead, only to get caught in a crucifix bomb for two. An overhead belly to belly sends Bandido hard into the corner and he gets dropkicked out of the air. Rush sends him outside for a big dive and let’s get a table. Bandido manages to get back inside for a superkick though and a running shove sends Rush through the table. Back in and they trade some snap German suplexes until Bandido hits a pop up touch of the head (supposed to be a cutter).

That earns him a spinning kick to the head (fair enough as it was nowhere near a cutter, which commentary pointed out) and they’re both down again. It’s Rush up first to drag Bandido to the apron by the hair but Bandido is back up with the super fall away slam. The 21 Plex connects for two and the fans think this is awesome. Bandido charges into another suplex into the corner and Rush starts tearing at the mask. A shove of the referee is enough for Bandido to grab a rollup for the pin and the title at 16:04.

Rating: B+. These guys started fast and didn’t stop, which is how a match like this is supposed to go. They had one heck of a hard hitting fight with Rush being the monster who got too cocky and let the athletic freak catch up to him in the end as he went over the line. The match absolutely didn’t feel like sixteen minutes and it was the right call as Rush had been champion for far too long already. Heck of a main event and worth a look as Bandido jumps through the glass ceiling.

Post match, La Faccion Ingobernable runs in to beat down Bandido, with Rush getting in a belt shot to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. It’s a rather good show with the main event leading the way, but it was also a bit longer than it needed to be and a match or two could have been dropped. What matters most here though is some stuff happened, as so much of Ring of Honor TV feels like it just keeps happening with no end in sight. Good show here, but it could have used more than a few adjustments.

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Ring of Honor
Date: May 19, 2021
Location: UMBC Events Center, Baltimore, Maryland
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

Last week’s main event was a bit of a bizarre booking decision with Angelina Love and Mandy Leon cutting off the Cinderella story of Quinn McKay, which didn’t exactly leave a lot of good feelings. We’re coming up on I believe Best In The World though so it’s time to start setting some things up. Let’s get to it.

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

Ian Riccaboni welcomes us to the show and runs down the card. Quinn is back next week.

Battle Royal

PCO, Mike Bennett, Bateman, LSG, Danhausen, O’Shay Edwards, Brian Mooney, Joe Keys, Dante Caballero, Ken Dixon, Mark Briscoe, Eric Martin, World Famous CB, Sledge

This is between everyone who is currently unranked. The final two will have a singles match later, with the winner getting to choose to be ranked in the Pure or TV Title division. Dalton Castle is on commentary and only a handful get entrances. The factoids about PCO say that he last wrestled in a two winner battle royal in 1993 (!) and he is the only person in the match to participate in the World War 3 battle royal. He’s old you see.

Bateman jumps Bennett in the aisle and the camera keeps jumping back to their fight. Cue Dutch (Bateman’s monster friend) to run Bennett over and choke him out as the match is going on in the background somewhere. Bennett gets planted on the floor with a Boss Man Slam and is dragged towards the back (Castle: “You can’t just walk off with a human!”) but security breaks it up.

We take a break and come back with Dixon being baseball slided out. Matt Taven is carrying Bennett out, as Bateman and Dutch (the latter of whom might not have been in this in the first place) are gone too. Briscoe puts Mooney (formerly Ryan Nova, which is a better name) out and PCO gets rid of Martin. That gives us a PCO vs. Briscoe showdown but Danhausen breaks it up with a double chokeslam attempt….and is tossed. Hold on though as Danhausen has an El Generico mask and gets back in, earning himself another elimination.

PCO and Briscoe get to chop it out as they have long wanted to as Caballero is put out. CB goes up for no logical reason and is knocked out by Keys (in a bit of an upset), leaving Briscoe to slug it out with Edwards. Keys actually tosses Briscoe (in a very big upset), leaving Sledge to hammer it out with Edwards for a change. Edwards misses a charge and gets tossed out, leaving us with Sledge, PCO, Keys and LSG for an interesting final four.

PCO…well they call it malfunctioning and dives through the ropes onto absolutely no one. That’s through the ropes though so he comes back in and suplexes LSG into the corner. Now we get PCO vs. Sledge for the slugout and a chokeoff (Castle: “This is good! When one of them stops breathing, the other wins!”). PCO shoves him out but LSG and Keys run up from behind for the elimination and the win at 13:40.

Rating: C-. Not much of a battle royal (as we skipped the opening few minutes to watch the fight) as about a third of the people were dojo students, but I like the ending quite a bit. This is a way to jump start some runs in the company so this is about as good of an idea as they had. I’m not sure if the winners are going to go anywhere, but this is a good move and the right call.

PCO is annoyed and leaves as the winners shake hands.

Six Man Tag Team Titles: Primal Fear vs. Shane Taylor Promotions

Shane Taylor Promotions (Taylor/Moses/Khan) are defending and Primal Fear is a trio who have been together for five years now. Before the match, Primal Fear say they want the titles and Taylor and company say they’re giving the new guys a chance. Moses and Matthew Omen start things off with the much bigger Moses shoving him down without much effort.

Some elbows to the face put Omen down and it’s off to Khan for a running backsplash. Adrian Soriano comes in and gets driven into the corner in a hurry. A slap to Shane’s face earns him a heck of a forearm as we take a break. Back with a headbutt sending Soriano into the corner but some double teaming lets Fear get Taylor into the corner. Gabriel Hodder comes in and stomps away with some choking mixed in for a bit of flavor. A belly to back suplex into a moonsault gives Hodder two but Shane blasts Soriano with a clothesline.

The hot tag brings in Moses to clean house and a clothesline sends Hodder outside. Khan’s gorilla press gutbuster drops Omen for two but it’s a backbreaker into a spear to give Soriano two. A step up flip dive takes Moses out on the floor but he’s fine enough to hit a fall away slam, sending Hodder over the barricade. Back in and a super Jackhammer (that’s a new one) hits Omen, setting up a 3D into a Downward Spiral (that’s a new one too) to give Moses the pin at 10:17.

Rating: C. I’m not sure what to think of Primal Fear, as they were three guys who worked well but there wasn’t anything that made them stand out. That being said, it kind of fits to have them as a unit instead of three individual people. The action was good enough and it was cool to see a pair of cool moves to wrap it up. I could go for more of Primal Fear too, which is a good result coming out of a match like this one.

Silas Young has been asked about why he turned on Josh Woods. Young is a successful star on his own so why did he take Woods under his wing? He taught Woods everything he knows about wrestling but then Woods blew him off. Everything has repercussions and this is his repercussion.

Josh Woods reluctantly sits down and is asked about Silas Young. After thinking for a good while, Woods walks off without saying anything.

Josh Woods vs. Silas Young

Young jumps Woods during the entrance and hammers away, including sending Woods hard into the barricade. Woods kicks a chair into Young’s face and we take a break. Back with the opening bell (well done) and Woods being sent throat first into the top rope. The slow beating begins with Young talking trash and hitting a stomp to the ribs off the ropes. Young says he is going to clothesline him and then clotheslines him, setting up a knee to the back.

We hit the chinlock with a bodyscissors for a bit before Woods blocks a suplex attempt. His back gives out though and Young runs Woods over again. A big boot drops Woods and we take a break. Back with Woods reversing an abdominal stretch into one of his own but Young is out in a hurry. Somehow Woods manages to pick him up with a suplex to drive him into the corner, setting up the running forearms.

A butterfly suplex gives Woods two and a bridging German suplex gets two. The Gorilla Lock is broken up so Young nails the anarchist suplex for two of his own. Woods is sent out to the apron and pulls Young out with him for the slugout. They trade forearms and trash talk until Woods throws him back inside for a wacky armbar. That’s fine with Young, who puts his feet on the ropes and pushes into a rollup for the pin at 12:06.

Rating: C+. Woods is a heck of a prospect and Young is the kind of a guy who can make anything work against anyone. The mentor vs. student story has worked for years and it was working well enough here too. This felt like an important showdown and that is the kind of thing any show can use.

Overall Rating: C+. What made this show work so well is that it felt like a mixture of multiple things. You had stuff for the future, a title match and a grudge match. It is the kind of show that feels like you’re getting to see something and that is what weekly TV is often missing. Good show here, with the format making up for some hit and miss action.

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Ring of Honor
Date: May 12, 2021
Location: UMBC Events Center, Baltimore, Maryland
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We’re coming off a big moment last week as Tony Deppen won the TV Title in a rather surprising ending. I’m curious to see what they follow it up with, though there is a good chance that it is going to be part of the faction wars that have more or less taken over the promotion. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Ian Riccaboni welcomes us to the show as Quinn McKay is making her in-ring debut tonight against Angelina Love.

Flip Gordon/EC3 vs. Briscoes

This is billed as the TV main event as I’m assuming this was taped out of order. Due to reasons of names that sound better on paper than in reality, EC3 is now “The Essential Character.” Before the match, Flip and EC3 don’t want to team together and the Briscoes don’t seem to like them. EC3 actually shakes hands before headlocking Jay down to start. They go with the grappling until EC3 takes him down into a chinlock.

That gets reversed as well and Jay gets in a boot to the face. Mark comes in to start cleaning house and we take a break. Back with Mark and Gordon striking it out until a blind tag lets Jay come in for a big boot. Some shoulders put Gordon down and Mark chokes with the shirt. Gordon manages to take Jay outside for a wheelbarrow suplex into a low superkick. EC3 is not pleased with the whole thing but comes in for a front facelock anyway.

Jay jawbreaks his way to freedom and comes up striking as we take a break. Back with Gordon hitting a Falcon Arrow for two on Jay but a clothesline gets him out of trouble. Mark comes back in with the Redneck Kung Fu into an Iconoclasm for two, despite Gordon’s arm being up. Redneck Boogie is broken up as everything breaks down. EC3 double clotheslines them down but gets caught in Redneck Boogie for two with Gordon making the save. A quick chain shot knocks Mark silly though and EC3’s reverse layout DDT finishes Mark at 12:25.

Rating: C. EC3 looked better here, but I still don’t really get the big the big deal. It’s an improvement if he doesn’t do the Control Your Narrative deal, but the in-ring work and talking aren’t quite good enough to get my attention. Just kind of a match that happened here, which isn’t what you expect from the Briscos.

Brian Johnson is sick of not being taken seriously so it’s time for an open challenge. This is rather intense as he talks about how he is going to take out various people, including promising to turn the Octopus into calamari.

Brian Johnson vs. Danhausen

Actually no as Danhausen has already beaten Johnson so he has a gifthausen for Johnson.

Brian Johnson vs. PCO

Danhausen joins commentary and talks about sending PCO a letter to get this match set up. PCO sends him hard into the corner to start and we take an early break. Back with PCO backdropping him over the barricade and beating up the ring announcer. Danhausen: “Certainly not what Danhausen would have done but it is what it is.”

Johnson gets in a cheap shot and hits a top rope clothesline as Danhausen talks about his efforts to get Johnson banned from talking. Johnson hits a top rope splash but it just wakes PCO up. The pop up powerbomb plants Johnson and the PCOsault gets two. As commentary tries to understand the kickout, Johnson hammers away. PCO shrugs it off and grabs the Deathgrip (like a Mandible Claw) for the win at 7:03.

Rating: C. Danhausen continues to be so much fun and it is awesome to see everything that he gets to do out there. Let him have fun and be genuinely different, even if he doesn’t wrestle very often. PCO was a great reveal, as he is as close to a boss fight as you get around here and shut up Johnson as well as anyone else.

Angelina Love talks about being a veteran former champion who can’t believe that the backstage interviewer is having problems with her. Mandy Leon comes up to say they have better things to do so they’re done.

Quinn McKay can’t believe she has this chance. This is her love, after spending eight years in roller derby (well ok then). She has been training for years and is in the business, but now she wants to wrestle. McKay can’t understand why someone with so much success is so bitter because that isn’t how you grow a women’s division. This is McKay’s chance and if she loses….she isn’t sure what is going to happen.

Quinn McKay vs. Angelina Love

Mandy Leon is here with Love and Maria Kanellis-Bennett is on commentary. If McKay wins, she is in the Women’s Title tournament. Love talks trash to start and takes McKay down for some hair tossling. We take a break and come back with Love choking on the ropes so Leon can get in some shots to the face. Some kicks to the head set up Lights Out into the Koji Clutch to have McKay in more trouble.

The rope isn’t reached and the arm drops twice…but Love lets it go as it drops the third time, meaning we keep going. McKay hits a jawbreaker, ducks the Botox Injection (Brogue Kick) and hits a powerslam for two. The Tangerine Dream (Cobra Clutch with a bodyscissors) goes on and Love is almost out, drawing Leon up to the apron. The Botox Injection finishes McKay at 11:29.

Rating: D+. Well that happened. This was a squash until the ending with McKay not only getting beaten up but then just losing in the end. Yeah there was interference and yeah McKay will almost assuredly wind up in the tournament, but I cannot bring myself to care about Angelina Love, or most of the Ring of Honor women’s division, in 2021. I haven’t seen it work well yet and while McKay is a nice story, I’m not sure if she is enough to carry things that far. The ending didn’t help here either, as it was one sided, then there was a brief flurry, followed by the evil veteran winning. Riveting.

McKay gets a standing ovation from commentary to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. This was rolling along well enough until the ending, which took all of the steam out of the show. I’m really not sure what the point was in building the main event up so much and then having the rug pulled out, but Ring of Honor has had some troubles sticking the landings before. Not a terrible show until the finish, but I was actually surprised they went with that finish, which is rarely a good sign.

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Ring of Honor
Date: February 10, 2021
Location: UMBC Event Center, Baltimore, Maryland
Commentators: Caprice Coleman, Ian Riccaboni

After finally, and I do mean finally, getting to watch Final Battle, I’m curious about why the weekly TV show feels so weak by comparison. Maybe it’s all of the promos before the matches, but there is such a gap between the pay per view and the TV shows that it is pretty jarring. Hopefully they can make it better this time around. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Quinn McKay welcomes us to the show and runs down the card.

We look at the end of last week’s show where Beer City Bruiser listened to Vincent and attacked OGK, including breaking a beet bottle over Matt Taven’s head.

Bruiser said he was done being second. Brawler Milonas came in to yell at him but Bruiser didn’t want to hear it.

Tracy Williams talks about how the Foundation wants to give wrestlers a chance. They did that with Rhett Titus and now they are going to do it with Cheeseburger. Is he really suggesting that we haven’t seen enough of Cheeseburger over the years??? With that scary thought out of the way, Williams talks about how there are things that you can’t learn out of a book like Cheeseburger has done. Tonight, he’s learning in the ring.

Cheeseburger, now in a fur coat and dubbed The World Famous CB, talks about his path through wrestling to get where he is today. Being Cheeseburger is the best and worst thing to happen to him. It got him a long way, but it made him feel like a novelty and he’s more than that (no, not really, no). Now he is the rhythm and he’ll showcase what else he can do.

World Famous CB vs. Tracy Williams

Pure Rules. Williams takes him down by the arm to start but CB is back up with his own arm cranking. A headlock takeover puts Williams on the mat and CB bounces his way to freedom for a unique escape. We take a break and come back with CB armdragging him to the mat for a rollup and then climbing onto Williams’ back for a double arm crank. That’s enough to send Williams to the ropes for a break and he takes CB down into a chinlock.

The threat of a Crossface sends CB’s foot to the ropes for his first break. Williams grabs the arm and twists it around his own leg to keep the variety up. That doesn’t last long either and Williams’ missed charge sends him flying to the ropes. Back in and CB takes him down by the arm and rolls around into an armbar, sending Williams to the ropes again.

A standing armbar sends Williams right back to the ropes for the final break, which surprises commentary. An Angle Slam into a doctor bomb gets two on CB but he’s right back with a low superkick. Williams isn’t having any more of this though and grabs the piledriver for the pin at 13:05.

Rating: C. I can’t believe I’m saying this but they might have found something for Cheeseburger. He’s right when he says that the gimmick was a blessing and a curse, but the biggest problem was he had no story other than “he’s this small underdog.” That wasn’t the case here as it was a technical exchange with Cheeseburger hanging in there throughout. If you ignore the size stuff, you might be able to get something more out of him. Imagine that.

Honor is shown post match.

Brody King want revenge on La Faccion Ingobernable for costing him the World Title at Final Battle. Tonight, it’s an eight man tag.

Briscoes/PCO/Brody King vs. La Faccion Ingobernable/Flip Gordon

Amy Rose is on commentary, it’s Rush/Dragon Lee/Bestia (the latter of whom is making his ROH debut) for La Faccion and Gordon is replacing Kenny King who can’t be here for undisclosed reasons. King and the much smaller Lee start things off but Rush comes in before there is any contact. Bestia comes in sans contact as well….and let’s have two more tags so it’s Gordon vs. Mark for the opening lockup.

Briscoe powers him into the corner and it’s PCO coming in for a corner splash as La Faccion chills on the floor. Gordon is sent outside so La Faccion sends him right back in, with Rose denying that this has anything to do with Gordon’s upcoming World Title shot. Gordon’s sleeper on King is broken up with straight power and Gordon goes outside again. La Faccion throws him back in again and PCO drops a headbutt.

Gordon has to be tossed inside again as this is certainly a unique way to go. Back up and Gordon finally gets in a shot but Rush drops to the floor before the tag. Mark covers Gordon and that’s finally enough to bring in La Faccion for the brawl, because they want the winners’ share (makes sense). Everything breaks down and they all fight to the floor. Rush chairs King in the knee and an electrical cord shot to the knee makes it even worse.

We take a break and come back with a running basement dropkick sending King to the floor again. La Faccion switches over to triple teaming PCO, who chops his way to freedom in a hurry. A running powerslam plants Gordon but Bestia kicks Gordon out to the floor for the slugout with PCO. Jay takes PCO’s place for another slugout, with a discus forearm sending Bestia outside.

That means it’s King planting Lee with a Rock Bottom but Rush and Bestia pull King off the top. Jay and PCO take out Rush and Bestia with stereo suicide dives and Mark uses a chair for a step up flip dive onto La Faccion. Rush is laid on a table but PCO’s flip dive off the top (Rose: “No no no no no!”) only hits table. The referee finally throws it out at 13:12.

Rating: C+. Total brawl here and that’s what you would have expected from these guys. The Gordon stuff was an interesting and logical twist to the whole thing, though I’m not sure why you would have expected anything other than a big mess for the finish. This worked out well for what they were doing, but it feels like just another way to extend the story to….I’m not really sure what end at this point.

The brawl continues and we see the Foundation saying this isn’t Ring of Honor to end the show. I could go for a faction war.

Overall Rating: C. They did some nice things here but it still feels like they have nowhere to go with most of it. I’m sure we’ll get a pay per view announcement at some point but until then, it’s just a bunch of stuff to fill in an hour a week. I liked the main event and CB worked out well enough, assuming you don’t expect it to mean much of anything for a bit. Not a bad show, but it still feels like a lot of wheel spinning.

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Final Battle 2020
Date: December 18, 2020
Location: UMBC Events Center, Baltimore, Maryland
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

This is the biggest show of the year and this is one of the more uniquely put together pay per views I’ve seen in a long time. The company has only been back for a short while now and a lot of the top stars have snot been around since the relaunch. The card is still pretty full though and maybe they can pull off a good one. Let’s get to it.

Commentary welcomes us to the pre-show and has some bad news: EC3, Kenny King and Bandido have been Coronavirused off the show so some things have to be changed.

Pre-Show: Tony Deppen vs. LSG vs. Josh Woods vs. Dak Draper

One fall to a finish, lucha rules and the winner gets a TV Title match later tonight. Deppen and LSG are thrown outside before the bell so it’s Woods vs. Draper to start things off. The other two get back on the apron as Woods and Draper go to the grappling to start. An exchange of headlocks doesn’t go anywhere so LSG tags himself in to dropkick Draper.

Deppen comes in as well and it’s time to run the ropes with LSG. A dropkick puts LSG down but he sends Deppen outside for a dropkick through the ropes. That means Woods and Draper can come back in to exchange rollups for two each but Draper knocks Deppen into the corner with a shot to the face. A suplex gives Draper two but the Magnum KO is broken up with some elbows to the jaw.

Deppen gets tossed around and Draper gets in some trash talk to Woods to draw him in. That doesn’t even matter this time as Draper muscles Deppen up for an apron superplex and another near fall. The running knee misses though and Deppen gets out to the floor, allowing LSG to come back in and strike away.

A springboard forearm to the face gets two on Draper but Deppen is back in with a springboard Codebreaker to Woods. Draper and LSG go to the corner, only to have Woods come back in for a Tower of Doom. That means Draper and Woods can slug it out until Draper grabs a Doctor Bomb for two. They’re knocked outside though and it’s Deppen jumping back in to roll LSG up for the pin at 11:43.

Rating: C+. This was all about the action and that’s a good way to get things going on a show like this one. It’s exactly the same idea of the cruiserweights back in WCW and it is always going to work here. Deppen winning is a bit of a surprise, but that’s the kind of thing you can get away with in a four way like this. Nice stuff to get us going.

Pre-Show: Foundation vs. Fred Yehi/Wheeler Yuta

It’s the first ever Pure Rules tag match, you have five seconds to get out of the ring after the tag and a save counts as a rope break. If you make a save when you are out of breaks, it’s a DQ. Tracy Williams and Rhett Titus are here for the Foundation. Yehi and Williams go with the grappling to start with Williams wristlocking him into the corner for the tag off to Titus.

Yehi takes him down into the Koji Clutch but the rope is reached in a hurry for the first break. Yuta comes in and Williams pulls him straight into the Texas Cloverleaf, sending Yuta to the ropes to even things up. We get some miscommunication on a tag so Yehi has the chance to come in and German suplex Williams. Titus comes in and gets caught in a Koji Clutch, with Williams making the save, good for the second rope break.

The rapid fire saves are on and we’re down to just Yehi and Yuta having one left. Titus dropkicks Yuta off the top and out to the floor in a big crash. That means Williams and Yehi come in and strike it out, with Yehi having to counter a piledriver attempt. Yehi Downward Spirals him into the Koji Clutch and the ropes aren’t there for a save. Titus can’t save him either so he sends Yuta into the hold for the break in a smart move.

It’s back to Titus vs. Yuta for an exchange of crucifixes for two each until Yuta snaps off a bridging German suplex for two more. Yehi gets in a shot of his own and Yuta’s top rope splash gets another two. The hot tag brings in Williams for a hard clothesline and a Death Valley Driver. Williams stuffs Yuta with a piledriver and Yehi makes the save for the last break. Yuta gets caught in the Crossface, with Williams using the ropes for extra leverage (perfectly legal) for the tap at 13:51.

Rating: C. The rope breaks were a nice touch but that’s about all there was to this. The Pure Rules are a nice idea but they aren’t exactly the most inspiring alternative to everything else going on. Williams and Yehi continue to be fun to watch every time but the other two were just kind of there, which is kind of a problem when they do it almost every week.

Respect is shown post match.

The opening video talks about how everything stopped this year but some wrestlers are picking up the mantle of honor. Tonight they are willing to do whatever it takes on the biggest night of the year.

Tag Team Titles: Mark Briscoe/PCO vs. Foundation

The Foundation (Jay Lethal/Jonathan Gresham) are defending and PCO is here because Jay Briscoe was moved into another match due to Coronavirus issues, which wound up being changed anyway. We get the Code of Honor and it’s Lethal vs. Briscoe to start things off, with Lethal saying this is wrestling instead of fighting. Mark isn’t having any of this wristlocking and starts chopping away, sending Lethal out to the floor for a breather.

Back in and it’s PCO coming in to say he wants to break Lethal’s arm (again). That’s enough to make Lethal stay so PCO takes him down into a cross armbreaker. A rope break lets Lethal bail out to the floor as the champs can’t get anything going so far. Gresham comes in and tries to go after PCO’s leg, which goes as well as you would expect. PCO tosses him back to the floor and the challengers start cleaning house, including Briscoe’s running cannonball off the apron to drop Lethal.

The champs are rammed into each other and Mark uses a chair as a launchpad for a flip dive over the corner onto everyone else. PCO’s top rope flip dive completely misses Lethal so it’s Mark suplexing Gresham for two. Lethal comes back in for a dropkick/German suplex combination to drop Briscoe and it’s time to stomp him down into the corner. Briscoe pops back up and brings in PCO to clean house.

What looked like a low blow puts Gresham down again and the champs are in trouble. The Froggy Bow hits Lethal’s raised knees as the PCOsault hits clean, allowing Lethal to make the save. PCO and Lethal slug it out until Gresham launches Lethal over for a cutter to hit PCO for two. The champs manage a Doomsday Device on PCO and Gresham’s shooting star press gets a near fall. PCO monsters up but Lethal offers a distraction, allowing Gresham to roll PCO up and retain at 12:50.

Rating: B-. This was a good choice for an opener as PCO and Briscoe are always fun for a watch and the Foundation do feel like one of the best teams around. The Foundation vs. the Briscoes would have been better but there is only so much you can do when the pandemic is changing everything on such a short notice. Good match here though and the right result given the situation.

Commentary explains some of the card changes due to the Coronavirus.

Rey Horus vs. Dalton Castle

Horus was supposed to defend the Six Man Tag Team Titles but a change had to be made, with Castle, again with the Boys, stepped in. Castle goes with a fast rollup to start but gets kicked away to give us a standoff. Horus avoids a charge in the corner to put Castle on the floor as frustration sets in early. Back in and Castle takes him down for a quick splash, setting up some forearms to the ribs.

They head outside with Horus managing a kick to the chest, followed by a kick to the chest. Now the big flip dive connects and Castle is in even more trouble. Castle gets sent hard over the barricade and it’s a running kick to the face to give Horus two. A tornado DDT gives Horus two more but Castle catches him on top. Something like a reverse Neutralizer gets two on Horus and there’s a release German suplex for the same. Castle goes up but Horus runs the corner for a super victory roll and the pin at 9:10.

Rating: C. Castle’s near downward spiral continues around here as now he’s losing to the lesser known luchadors. The ending certainly took me by surprise, which is a nice thing in this case, as Horus gets a nice rub out of the whole thing. There was some good enough action, but it’s one of those matches that is likely just going to come and go without making much impact.

We recap Matt Taven/Mike Bennett (OGK) vs. the Righteous. Taven and Vincent had been in the Kingdom but Vincent turned on him to strike out on his own. Then Taven went out of action for the better part of a year due to a knee injury. Now they’re both back and it’s time for the two of them to kill each other. Bennett and Bateman are here to make it a tag match.

OGK vs. Righteous

The Righteous has Vita VonStarr in their corner. The brawl is on in a hurry with Bennett saving Taven from a suplex and driving Vincent into the corner. Bateman gets in a cheap shot from behind and we settle down with Bateman driving Taven into the corner. That just earns him an enziguri and it’s a hot tag to Bennett to clean house. Vita tries to come in for a distraction though and Bateman plans Bennett with a Side Effect to take over.

Vincent’s running forearms in the corner have Bennett in more trouble and a spinning Russian legsweep gets two. Bateman comes back in with some shots to the face but it’s too early for Vincent to try Redrum. Instead he slaps on the guillotine choke but Bennett powers out with a suplex. The double tag brings in Taven to clean house on Bateman, including a Russian legsweep into a flipping neckbreaker.

That’s enough of that though as Taven heads outside and unloads on Vincent. A springboard shot to the face puts Bateman down again and Just The Tip connects. The Climax is broken up though and Vincent slingshots in, only to get caught in a backbreaker. Bateman runs Taven over again though and it’s Redrum (Swanton) connecting for two. Bennett makes the save and everyone is down again. Taven and Vincent get into the big brawl that they have been needing to have but they kick each other down.

That’s good for a double tag so Bennett can spear Bateman down. The spike piledriver connects but Taven’s knee gives out again, meaning no cover. Instead Bennett punches Bateman off the top for a crash to the apron. A Death Valley Driver onto the apron drops Bateman again as Taven is back up with a knee to Vincent. The Aurora Borealis (frog splash) hits knees but Taven pulls Vincent into a choke, sending Vincent over to the rope. Bennett is back up though and Vincent is held over the apron for Aurora Borealis to crush him again. Back in and a Backpack Stunner/running boot combination finishes Bateman at 16:20.

Rating: B. This was the first match that felt like something that belonged on the pay per view (save for maybe the opener) as Taven vs. Vincent has become a heck of a feud. Bennett already feels FAR more important here than he ever did in WWE and that’s great for him. Bateman is a good monster enforcer as well and the match worked out rather well. I still can’t get my head around how much better Taven is as a face. It’s nothing I ever would have bet on and this has been working rather well. Good match here, with everyone looking solid.

Post match Vita hits OGK with a double low blow and it’s time to zip tie Taven to the ropes. Vita headscissors Taven to make him watch as Bateman puts a board between Bennett’s feet. A chair shot crushes the ankle in a Misery style destruction.

Danhausen vs. Brian Johnson

If Danhausen (who apparently debuted September 13, 1993 at 12:37am and weighs “at least” 300lbs despite being rather skinny) wins, he gets a contract. They shake hands and Danhausen kicks him in the face for a very early two. A middle rope hurricanrana gets two on Johnson and Danhausen demands his music be played. That’s what he gets as he hits a running kick off the apron, only to get caught with a hanging cutter back inside.

Johnson isn’t pleased but he grabs a mic and says Caprice Coleman sucks at his job. The trash talk and stomping ensues and Johnson wants to know why the Honor Club Girls aren’t cheering for him. A slam into a fist drop gets two on Danhausen but he takes the mat and drives Johnson into the corner for swearing (a big negative in Danhausen’s eyes). Johnson clotheslines him down again though and it’s time to grab the microphone again.

More shouting ensues as Johnson isn’t happy that he finally made it to Final Battle and is being stuck doing this. A clothesline gets two and Johnson can’t believe it. Danhausen makes the comeback with a running shot in the corner and a German suplex into another German suplex gets two….and let’s grab a jar of teeth. The Goodnight Hausen (GTS) gets two as Johnson gets a hand on the rope.

Johnson bails to the floor and gets taken down with a suicide dive but Johnson kicks the rope on the way back in. The jar of teeth (just go with it) is poured into Danhausen’s mouth but he grabs a quick rollup for two anyway. The teeth go into the referee’s eyes though, meaning there is no cover off Johnson’s neckbreaker finisher. Rating: C+. I actually liked this as Danhausen is enough of a screwy guy to make you believe that he’s just kind of out there. They didn’t do anything too far here (the teeth are certainly a thing) and Johnson ran his mouth so much that you wanted to see him lose. This was much more about the angle than the wrestling and that’s fine in a match like this, though I could see people not being pleased.

TV Title: Dragon Lee vs. Tony Deppen

Deppen is challenging after winning a four way on the pre-show but comes in holding his neck. Amy Rose, the manager of Lee’s faction, joins commentary. They go to the mat to start with neither being able to get much of an advantage. Deppen grabs an armdrag but gets sent to the floor for the suicide dive. Back in and Lee chops away in the corner as Rose is speaking about 90% Spanish. Deppen manages a step up kick to the head to put Lee on the floor, setting up a suicide flip dive. A springboard missile dropkick gives Deppen two but Lee pounds him right down in the corner.

We hit the chinlock for a bit, with Deppen fighting up and slapping away to take over. Lee is back with the snap German suplex and a moonsault northern lights suplex (geez) which leaves both of them down. They slug it out from their knees with Lee getting the better of things, only to miss a charge in the corner.

Deppen loads up a superplex but gets knocked down for an Alberto double stomp. Back up and Deppen scores with a running knee to the face and the kickout leaves him shocked. Lee blasts him in the face though and his own running knee gets two. That’s enough for Lee, who hits Incineration (another running knee) to retain at 11:50.

Rating: C+. Lee’s offense is fast paced and exciting enough that it is easy to see why Ring of Honor wants to push the heck out of him. Deppen looked good here as well, as he made the most out of the opportunity he was given. The match wasn’t exactly in doubt but they made something out of very little so well done all things considered.

We look at Jay Briscoe and Shane Taylor arguing backstage because their matches with EC3 and Mexisquad were canceled. This was announced earlier in the night and while that’s not a great way to go, like so many other things on this show, what else are they supposed to do?

Jay Briscoe vs. Shane Taylor

The lockup doesn’t go anywhere as they shove each other around with little avail. Shane sends him into the corner and unloads with rights and lefts but Jay is right back with a headlock. Jay tries to run the ropes and is knocked down hard with a shoulder. More rights and lefts set up a big right hand to knock Jay silly, meaning it’s time to head to the floor.

Jay sends him into the barricade and scores with a good superkick before heading back inside. Shane slugs away again but gets caught with a dropkick. One heck of a right handdrops Jay again though and it’s time for a slugout. Jay’s snap jabs set up an impressive Death Valley Driver and here’s Mark Briscoe for support.

Shane is up first but Jay slaps on a choke to put Shane down. Two arm drops have Shane in real trouble but he makes it over to the rope for the break. Jay’s big clothesline gets two and the neckbreaker is good for the same. Shane is back up and hits him in the face, setting up the package piledriver. Welcome To The Land finishes Jay at 13:41.

Rating: B-. This was about hitting each other really hard but also about building Shane up as a main eventer. They had a good power brawl here and beating Jay still means quite a bit in Ring of Honor. They don’t have many people at that level or even close to it so giving Shane a win on a show like this means a lot for his future around here.

We recap Jonathan Gresham defending the Pure Title against Flip Gordon. Gresham is the first holder of the new version of the title and he says there is more to wrestling than flips. Gordon doesn’t love this company as much as he does and it’s time for both guys to prove themselves.

Pure Title: Jonathan Gresham vs. Flip Gordon

Gordon is challenging. They lock up to start with Ian saying this is like Thunder Road vs. Born To Run. Gresham grabs a hammerlock, which sends Gordon straight to the rope for the first break. With that out of the way, Gresham takes him to the mat to work on the leg, which sends Gordon over to the ropes for a second break in three minutes. Gresham tries a headlock takeover this time before switching to a crucifix.

Back up and Gresham works on the wrist a bit more as Gordon has barely done anything so far. Gresham ties up the arm and twists the foot around at the same time before letting Gordon up. A standing armbar goes on so Gordon drives him into the rope, which counts as the final rope break. Gordon finally scores with a spinning kick to the head to put Gresham down for the first time.

Gresham can’t hit a springboard hurricanrana so Gordon superkicks him down for two, with Gresham using a rope break of his own. Gordon gets knocked away but is fine enough to duck a middle rope crossbody with Gresham banging up his knee on the landing. That gives Gordon a target and the Figure Four goes on, with Gresham breaking it up in a hurry. A dropkick to the leg sets up a half crab but Gresham slips out again. This time Gresham kicks Gordon in the arm and they’re both down for a bit.

Gordon is right back on the leg so Gresham makes the rope for the second time. Another kick to the leg sets up a Falcon Arrow into Submit To Flip (STF) but Gresham elbows his way out. Back up and they slug it out with Gresham kicking him in the arm again. Gordon wins a slugout by going with the closed fist, which is good for his first warning. An enziguri into a German suplex (with Gresham raising the bad leg) gets two on Gordon but he knocks the leg out again and grabs another half crab.

That’s switched into another STF but Gresham crawls to the floor for the break. Back in and Gresham sets him on top for another kick to the arm, setting up a top rope belly to back superplex for another near fall. Gresham hits a running shot to the head for two, followed by a running shot to the head for two. Another one is loaded up but the referee stops it because Gordon can’t defend himself at 24:37.

Rating: B. I’m not wild on Gordon most of the time but he brought it here and they had a heck of a fight. Gresham was losing the technical battle, or at least close to it, and went with the hard shots to the head to win instead. It’s a good story for the match and Gresham didn’t cheat to win after a long match, making this one of the better things the Pure Title has done since it was brought back. Heck of a match here and pay per view worthy.

Post match Gordon declines the handshake and walks away.

We recap Brody King vs. Rush. King has been on a roll since Ring of Honor returned and Rush is finally back after his long hiatus. It isn’t much of a main event, but again you can’t hold that against them here.

Ring of Honor World Title: Rush vs. Brody King

King is challenging. They go with the striking to start with Rush’s shoulder putting him on a knee. King is back up with a clothesline to the floor and that means the suicide dive. Rush is whipped hard into the barricade twice in a row, meaning it’s time to grab some chairs. King slams him down onto said chairs, which isn’t a DQ because they weren’t used in an offensive manner. There’s a backsplash onto Rush onto the chairs and it’s time to go back inside.

King stomps away in the corner and hits the Cannonball for two, only to have Rush come back with a running knee to the face. They’re right back to the floor with Rush sending him into the barricade and slamming the door in the barricade on King’s head. Rush whips away with an electrical cord and then uses it to choke away. King is down so Rush asks the camera if it missed being in his house.

Back in and King unloads with chops in the corner, only to get taken down for his efforts. The running taunting kick to the face has King in more trouble and there’s a belly to belly to put King into the corner again. King heads up top but Rush catches him with a top rope superplex for two more.

The swinging Boss Man Slam gives King two and it’s time to chop it out again. Rush knocks him into the corner again and tries the Bull’s Horns, only to get cut off by a spear. The Ganso Bomb is loaded up but here is Dragon Lee (Rush’s brother) for a distraction. Bestia del Rey (Rush/Lee’s father) comes in to chair King down, meaning the Bull’s Horns to retain the title at 16:35.

Rating: B. Pretty good brawl here with both guys hitting each other rather hard. The ending seemed designed to set up something for later, though I’m not sure I can imagine Rush keeping the title that much longer due to the immigration issues. King does have a claim to a rematch due to the cheating but I’m not sure if he’ll be first in line. I know this didn’t quite feel like a Final Battle main event, but as has been the case all night, it’s understandable.

Post break La Faccion celebrates but the Foundation comes out for the staredown to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. All things considered, this is the about all you could have asked for. I know the show was lacking a lot of the way of storyline development, but there was only so much they could have done. It felt more like a collection of matches than a show if that makes sense, though it’s quite the collection of matches for the most part. Nothing is bad, and I liked what we got here for the most part. Ring of Honor works best when they’re just focusing on the wrestling and that’s what they did here in a show that felt like it belonged on the Final Battle stage.

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Ring of Honor
Date: January 13, 2021

We’re still in the post Final Battle lull, meaning that it’s time for a Best Of show. That may seem a little strange given how little Ring of Honor has been around this year, but at least they do have some interesting options to choose from. If nothing else, another refresher on what the company can do is not a bad idea. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

From Free Enterprise.

Battle Royal

Beer City Bruiser, Brawler Milonas, Tracy Williams, Cheeseburger, Josh Woods, Brian Johnson, PJ Black, Silas Young, Blue Meanie, Rhett Titus, Maria Manic, Gangrel, Delirious, Eli Isom, Kenny King, Dragon Lee, Crowbar, Dak Draper, Danhausen, Leon St. Giovanni

The winner gets a future World Title shot and I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a regular battle royal in ROH. Gangrel blows the liquid in King’s face during entrances and most of the people get in at the bell to start fast. We take a break at the ten second mark and come back, seemingly with nothing having changed, meaning Delirious is running around ringside and King is blindly throwing punches on the floor.

Gangrel suplexes Danhausen and Impales Johnson as I’m trying to wonder if they’re really considering him a big deal. Draper fights off another Impaler and backdrops Gangrel out to a chorus of booing. LSG goes up top to dive at Draper, who throws him out with ease. Draper backdrops out Isom and Crowbar with ease so, say it with me, Cheeseburger eliminates Draper a few seconds later.

With that required annoyance out of the way, the Bouncers start wrecking a lot of people. Meanie tries to get the Bouncers to dance….and they actually do it, only to have Johnson throw Meanie out. As Amy Rose comes out to get King to the back, the Bouncers beat up Johnson and toss him….only to the apron as PJ Black makes a save. As a result, Johnson throws Black out in a good old heel double crossing. Manic grabs Johnson low and gorilla presses him out as we take another break.

Back again with Maria throwing the Bouncers out at the same time but stopping to hug Danhausen. Young and Maria have a staredown with Silas dropping her but not quite being able to eliminate her. Cue Bully Ray to pull Maria out, allowing Young to celebrate. Ray chairs her in the back and adds a powerbomb through a table (apparently giving her a concussion).

Back in and Danhausen gives Delirious some teeth but then throws them at Delirious, setting up the elimination. Danhausen German suplexes Young but gets tossed out anyway, allowing Cheeseburger to hit a springboard crossbody. Young rolls through and they go to the apron but Woods makes the save. A clothesline eliminates Cheeseburger and we’re down to Williams, Lee, Young and Woods. Young puts Williams on the top so Tracy manages a DDT onto the top turnbuckle.

Woods jumps in front of a spinning forearm so Williams blasts him instead, leaving Young to return the save. Williams gets double teamed in the corner with a slingshot elbow, setting up the easy elimination. Young and Woods stomp Lee down in the corner but Lee sends Young to the apron. Woods kicks him out by mistake and gets tossed, only to have Kenny King run in. Lee survives an elimination attempt, unmasks as Flip Gordon, and dumps King for the win at 20:30.

Rating: C. This was an entertaining enough battle royal with a surprise ending. Gordon is a safe bet for a future title shot as he’ll get in a good match and there’s always the chance he might pull off an upset. There were enough stories going on in here and they advanced some stuff, so well done with the whole thing, especially for a battle royal.

Post break, Gordon says he’s coming for the title at Supercard of Honor.

From Gateway To Honor.

Ring of Honor World Title: Rush vs. PCO vs. Mark Haskins

PCO is defending. They start very fast with Rush knocking PCO and Haskins to the floor back to back. PCO comes back in for the power showdown and knocks Rush outside in a hurry. That means the big suicide dive but Haskins’ version is pulled out of the air for a chokeslam onto the apron. PCO’s big flip dive off the top only hits apron as Rush pulls Haskins out of the way.

We take a break and come back with Rush knocking PCO off of the apron and Haskins hitting a suicide dive. A top rope double stomp hits Rush for two and there’s a PK for the same on PCO. Back up and PCO cleans house with no real problem but Rush suplexes him into the corner.

PCO tackles Rush down but Haskins makes the save with another top rope double stomp. There’s a chokeslam from PCO to Haskins and the PCOsault connects….but Rush pulls the referee out. Cue NWA World Champion Nick Aldis to knock PCO silly with the World Title, allowing Rush to knock PCO into the corner. The Bull’s Horns gives Rush the title back at 10:22.

Rating: C+. I can always go for Haskins and Rush has all the star power you could ask for. You throw in PCO as the monster and the match was about as entertaining as it could have been. There is nothing wrong with having PCO get the title at Final Battle for the feel good moment and then lose it back here, though it’s almost frustrating to imagine where the ROH/NWA feud could have gone in the future.

From ROH TV, November 4.

Pure Title: Jonathan Gresham vs. Tracy Williams

For the vacant title. They shake hands to start and Williams towers over him. It’s straight to the grappling early on but neither can get a hiptoss. Instead they head outside for a staredown until Williams gets back in and holds the rope open for Gresham. Back in and Williams starts working on the arm but Gresham slips out and we take a break. We come back with no time having elapsed (sweet) and Gresham starting in on Williams’ arm to take over for the first time. Williams goes to the ropes to get a breather and then chops Gresham right back down.

A cravate of all things gives Williams two and Gresham has to go to the ropes as well. There’s a spear to Williams but he’s right back up with a clothesline in the corner. Gresham hits a suplex with Williams popping up again for another chop. A bridging German suplex gets two on Williams and a collision in the corner puts them both on the floor in a heap.

Back in and Williams gets two off a brainbuster, setting up the Crossface to stay on the neck/shoulder. That means a second rope break from Gresham, who is back with a bridging German suplex of his own. Gresham forearms him down for two more but he can’t get a Kimura in full. Williams is back up with a piledriver for two, with Gresham using the final rope break. They both need a breather and Gresham pulls him into the Octopus for the sudden tap at 14:37.

Rating: B. Well that was sudden. I was expecting this to go closer to half an hour and it didn’t even make it to fifteen minutes. That’s quite the out of nowhere ending but Gresham seemed to be the favorite to win the title from the beginning of the tournament so it’s hardly a bad idea. It was a setup for a match, but the lack of time brought it down from where it could have been.

Post match Jay Lethal comes out to celebrate and respect is shown to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. I can always go for a Best Of show as it almost guarantees some quality stuff. That was the case here as there were some good matches from the better wrestlers around the company. It’s time to get back to normal though and hopefully that is where we go next week, as there are some things that need to be done around here. Good stuff here, but it can only last for so long.

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Ring of Honor
Date: December 30, 2020
Location: UMBC Events Center, Baltimore, Maryland
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

It’s time for a Christmas special with the annual Christmas Surprise tag team match. In other words, there will be two captains (the Briscoes in this case) and they will draw four names to make a random ten man tag. That’s better than having some random singles matches to fill in time until we get to the Final Battle fallout. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

It’s time to pick some names, so Jay Briscoe picks….well we’ll find out later.

Eric Martin and Ken Dixon are rookies from the ROH Dojo and while they don’t have a ton of experience. Martin likes to take it to people but seems a bit low key. Dixon on the other hand is a bit of a good old boy who likes the idea of getting paid for something that would usually get you arrested.

Dante Caballero and Joe Keys are from the MCW Training Center and they know Dixon from training. They started wrestling together but found out that they were in over their head. Jonathan Gresham helped them take away everything else and get back to basics. Tonight they’re here to prove that they belong.

Dante Caballero/Joe Keys vs. Eric Martin/Ken Dixon

They’re all in the basic black trunks because Ring of Honor REALLY wants to be New Japan. Caballero and Dixon go to the mat to start with Caballero getting two off a hammerlock into a crucifix. Martin comes in and it’s some double teaming to put Caballero in trouble in the corner. A quick escape allows the tag to Keys, who is dropkicked down in a hurry. Dixon shoulders Keys down for two and a hard whip into the corner sends us to a break. Back with Dixon coming in again and letting Keys make the tag.

Keys slams Martin down and dives over for the tag to Caballero to start the comeback. The Crossface is broken up by Dixon, who snaps off a powerslam for two on Caballero. The hot tag brings Keys back in and a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker hits Dixon. There’s a Swan Dive to Dixon as well but it bangs Keys up at the same time. He’s fine enough to grab a half crab, which is broken up in a hurry too. Caballero comes back in with a spear though and a half crab makes Dixon tap at 12:14.

Rating: C. The match was your standard run of the mill low level tag match, but can we please drop the “we’ve stripped them of their identities deal?” I know it’s what New Japan does and ROH loves itself some New Japan, but these people have a history and Caballero was already in the Top Prospect Tournament with his full deal. It’s ok to do something of your own instead of copying someone else. Stop overthinking it.

Mark Briscoe doesn’t like that his older brother got first pick of the presents but he seems happy with his choices too.

Brian Johnson joins commentary and has Team Bozo shirts for Ian and Caprice.

Team Mark vs. Team Jay

Team Mark: Mark Briscoe, Beer City Bruiser, Dak Draper, Tracy Williams, Dalton Castle

Team Jay: Jay Briscoe, Flip Gordon, Brawler Milonas, John Walters, PCO

In a nice bonus, each wrestler’s stats are replaced with their Christmas wish list. I can always appreciate little touches like that as they show some thinking and effort. Walters and Williams go technical (stunning indeed) to start with Williams snapping off an armdrag for a standoff. Draper comes in and gets dropkicked by Gordon, who grabs a choke for a bonus. Milonas comes in and gets to face…..the Bruiser, as the Colossal Jostle is on. Bruiser gets knocked down but misses the legdrop, setting up the stereo crossbodies.

Castle, in a turtleneck, comes in to face PCO and I want these two in a buddy cop comedy. PCO doesn’t like being sent into the buckle as commentary brags about Jim Cornette’s endorsement. We take a break and come back with a fired up PCO saying bring it on. Castle thinks about it but hands it off to Mark instead. Jay comes in as well and it’s time to run the ropes. That doesn’t suit them though and the slugout is on, drawing in everyone else for more of the same.

Flip hits a big springboard flip dive onto Bruiser, followed by PCO diving onto just about everyone. Back in and Jay uppercuts Mark, followed by Walters getting two off an elbow to the face. PCO comes in to whip Mark into the corner but Mark elbows Walters down and hands it off to Bruiser as we take another break. Back again with Mark chopping at Walters as commentary wonders about a Briscoe Family Christmas. Ian: “Family matters to the Briscoes.” Johnson: “Family matters? Urkel wouldn’t even hang out with those two!” Ian: “Well Laura would.” And that’s why I smile at Ian Riccaboni’s commentary.

The nerve hold has Walters in trouble and a chokeslam into a cutter (cool) puts Walters down again. That makes everything break down and we hit the parade of secondary finishers. Walters triangle chokes Williams but Bruiser breaks it up with a frog splash. PCO runs Draper over and finishes with the PCOsault at 17:31.

Rating: B-. This was the usual fun, completely irrelevant and entertaining match that we always get out of the Christmas special. You don’t need to do anything more than have a laid back match here but there are enough people to set up some interesting matchups. It’s a fun tradition and they did well with it here so nice job.

Overall Rating: C+. It’s a Christmas special so it isn’t the kind of show you can complain about all that much. The main event was fun and the opener was fine (annoying visuals aside) and….well what else are you wanting on a show like this? They always take a break around Christmas and this was perfectly acceptable all around.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

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Ring of Honor
Date: December 16, 2020
Location: UMBC Events Center, Baltimore, Maryland
Commentators: Caprice Coleman, Ian Riccaboni

It’s the go home show for Final Battle and that means it’s time to hammer everything in for good. The card has been a bit thrown together but that is to be expected given all of the circumstances with this year’s show. I’m curious to see how the final push goes, as Ring of Honor can be all over the place with these things. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Quinn McKay runs down the card and explains how the matches tie into Final Battle.

We look back at Matt Taven/Mike Bennett’s brawl with the Righteous last week.

Bennett is banged up but still manages to rant about Taven, and this isn’t over until the Kingdom says it is. Taven says the Original Kingdom is back and they’re coming for the Righteous.

The Bouncers talk about having a long legacy in wrestling because of their trainers (Harley Race and Killer Kowalski) and now it’s time to be serious. They’re not toasting losses anymore because it’s time to fight people and win matches. They want Mark Briscoe and PCO to hit them hard and get hit back harder, because they want the titles.

Mark Briscoe and PCO are ready to fight because they want the titles too. PCO even speaks, saying the Bouncers can rest in h***.

Bouncers vs. PCO/Mark Briscoe

Mark slugs it out with the Bruiser to start but gets knocked down by the big man. That’s fine with Mark, who bounces out of the corner with a shot to the face and hands it off to PCO. Milonas comes in and gets hit in the face a lot until he comes back with a huge running crossbody. A discus forearm sends Milonas to the floor for a suicide dive and Briscoe looks rather pleased. Briscoe adds the Blockbuster from the apron to drop Milonas again and we take a break.

Back with PCO missing the flip dive to the apron, allowing Milonas to hit a suplex on Briscoe. Bruiser comes in for the release Rock Bottom in the corner but the Vader Bomb misses. The hot tag brings in PCO to start cleaning house, including a front Russian legsweep for two. Briscoe uses a chair as a launchpad to flip dive onto Bruiser and MIlonas on the floor, followed by a kick to Bruiser’s head. The Froggy Bow misses but Briscoe suplexes Bruiser down anyway. PCO is back in with the PCOsault for the pin at 11:04.

Rating: C. I still like the Bouncers as they go out there and do their thing at a level you might not expect from them. This was a pretty fun power brawl and I had a better time with it than I would have expected. There is no reason for the Bouncers to work so well but for some reason they pull it off. Mark and PCO aren’t the greatest team ever, but for a thrown together combination, they’ll be fine.

Post break, Briscoe and PCO promise to win the titles.

Quick rundown of the Final Battle card, including a four way for a TV Title shot last that night, Brian Johnson vs. Danhausen for Danhausen’s contract, Fred Yehi/Wheeler Yuta vs. the Foundation in a Pure Rules tag match, plus everything already announced.

Flip Gordon talks about growing up in sports and then being competitive in the military. He started wrestling in 2015 and then signed with Ring of Honor two years later. Yes he’s a high flier but his background has always been in grappling so he’s ready to win the Pure Title. Josh Woods stood out in the Pure Title Tournament and he should be the perfect way to get back into the title hunt.

Josh Woods talks about how big it was to beat Jay Lethal last week but now he has to change his focus to Flip Gordon. Of course Gordon is talented and he’s ready to take advantage of the mistakes a high flier is going to make. Gordon may have an amateur background, but he can’t do the things Woods can do.

Josh Woods vs. Flip Gordon

Pure Rules. They go to the grappling to start and an ankle lock has Gordon bailing to the ropes less than forty seconds in. Back up and Gordon grabs a headlock but Woods reverses again as he keeps shrugging off anything Gordon does. Another Gordon headlock has a bit more success and a dropkick puts Gordon on the floor. There’s the dive and we take a break.

Back with Gordon cranking on both arms, followed by a running clothesline in the corner. A suplex gives Gordon two and we hit the neck crank. Woods pulls him down again and Gordon bails to the ropes for a second time. Back up and Woods scores with a running knee in the corner for two and a superplex puts both of them down. The slugout goes to Woods as he plants Gordon with a powerbomb, only to have Gordon pop back up with a kick to the head. A moonsault gives Gordon two and a gordbuster into a Stomp finishes Woods at 9:34.

Rating: C. The ending was a surprise as Woods seems perfect for this division but he loses to Gordon. It’s not some horrible decision but I didn’t quite see it coming, which could be a good thing. The Pure Rules stuff still works, though I’m not sure how long they have before the novelty wears off. Granted it’s hard to complain as the matches have been fine, so leaving the matches on the shows should be fine.

One more Final Battle rundown ends the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This show had one job: make me want to see Final Battle and given how many matches they threw on at the last minute, it worked out as well as it could have. Final Battle is going to be one of the most unique shows the company has ever put together and it’s a shame that they didn’t have the chance to set it up as usual. We could be in for a good show though, and this was a nice preview.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

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