Collision
Date: May 16, 2026
Location: Wicomico Civic Center, Salisbury, Maryland
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness

We’re back to the usual time and schedule for the show as we have the World Title on the line again. This time Darby Allin is defending against Sammy Guevara, who issued the challenge at last night’s Ring Of Honor Supercard Of Honor. That’s in addition to a few other matches set up at last night’s show. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

We run down the card.

After Dynamite, Jon Moxley, with the Death Riders, complained about not being able to beat Kyle O’Reilly. In theory, that means O’Reilly will be the next Continental Champion but Moxley is going to find a way. Claudio Castagnoli is ready to face Brody King in the Owen Hart Tournament. The rest of the team is ready to face the world. If it’s Wheeler Yuta against the world, the world doesn’t have much to worry about.

Conglomeration vs. Shane Taylor Promotions

Non-title Eliminator Match. Bravo and Briscoe trade headlocks to start with Briscoe knocking him into the corner. That means it’s off to O’Reilly vs. Moriarty, with O’Reilly taking him down to taking him down into a rollup for two. The cross armbreaker is blocked but everything breaks down, with O’Reilly being left alone to hammer Moriarty in the corner. Cassidy comes in for one right hand and Moriarty falls down.

Dean comes in and gets armdragged by Cassidy, who is sent to the apron and beats up the Infantry anyway. A slingshot spear finally takes Cassidy down and Taylor (not in the match) drops a leg on the apron as we take a break. We come back with Cassidy getting in his spinning DDT but Moriarty grabs an abdominal stretch.

The other members of the team all pull until they get caught, meaning Cassidy can bring O’Reilly back in. The Infantry’s belly to back neckbreaker puts O’Reilly down for two and everything breaks down. Taylor cuts off Briscoe’s step up chair dive so O’Reilly takes Taylor down. That leaves Briscoe to Froggy Bow and Jay Driller Dean for the pin at 13:33.

Rating: B. This was the usual good match that turned into a fairly wild brawl by the end. That worked out well, with the Conglomeration always working, even in the altered lineup. Both teams were mixing it up a bit here and that’s fine enough, as it’s not like the titles were on the line in the first place.

Will Ospreay is ready for the Owen Hart Tournament. He respects Samoa Joe, but no one is stopping him from winning the whole thing.

The Conglomeration is happy with their win (it wasn’t a title defense, despite what the interviewer says). O’Reilly is ready for Moxley and Briscoe is ready for Tommaso Ciampa. Willow Nightingale wants all the gold, including the Women’s Title.

TBS Title: Willow Nightingale vs. Red Velvet

Nightingale is defending (Velvet’s ROH Women’s TV Title isn’t on the line) and say it with me: it’s an open challenge. Nightingale backs her into the corner and smiles to start so Velvet kicks the leg out. Velvet’s arm cranking doesn’t work so Nightingale gets up and offers a (left) hand(ed) shake.

Velvet tries and fails to crank on the arm and Nightingale sends her into the corner for the rapid fire clotheslines. A sitdown splash misses for Nightingale and Velvet rolls her up for two. They head outside, with Velvet striking away, only to get caught with a suplex. We take a break and come back with Nightingale missing her flip dive off the apron for a nasty crash. A bulldog gives Velvet two but she charges into a spinebuster for the same.

Nightingale drops her with a powerslam but the Babe With The Powerbomb is countered into a hurricanrana. Velvet hits some running knees, only to flip into a full nelson slam for two more. Back up and Nightingale wins a strike off but gets flipped off the top. The Final Slice gives Velvet two, only for Nightingale to Pounce her out of her skin. The Babe With The Powerbomb retains the title at 13:03.

Rating: B-. Velvet has been on a roll since she came back from her injury and it’s nice to see her getting to showcase that on the bigger stage. At the same time, it feels like all Nightingale does anymore is defend the title in open challenges. It really shouldn’t be hard to find her a regular challenger and hopefully that is coming up sooner than later.

We look at the Women’s Owen Hart Cup brackets.

Video on Sammy Guevara, who is ready to challenge Darby Allin for the World Title.

Guevara knows he can beat Allin, as he’s done it four times before. Then he’ll beat MJF and shave him bald, but he’ll leave a fade.

Darby Allin isn’t surprised MJF isn’t here. He’s here to defend the title though because he loves this. If Mike Bailey wants a title shot, bring it on Dynamite.

Tommaso Ciampa is attacking Mark Briscoe in the back and they brawl into the arena, where Briscoe whips him into the barricade. Briscoe throws in some chairs, along with Ciampa, but the Jay Driller is broken up with a low blow. Ciampa chairs him down and takes Briscoe up top but the Conglomeration runs in for the save. Briscoe wants their match on Dynamite No DQ.

We look at the Men’s Owen Hart Cup brackets.

Opps vs. Lethal Twist

Lethal wants to start with Joe and gets his wish, with a chop just annoying Joe a bit more. It’s off to Bowens and Johnson, with Bowens sending him hard into the corner and stomping away. Bowens drives Lethal back first into the apron a few times as he’s being rather aggressive here. Back in and a Russian legsweep sets up Joe’s backsplash for two but a Blake Christian distraction lets Lethal hit a missile dropkick.

We take a break and come back with Johnson hammering on Joe. The beating doesn’t last long as Joe is up for the tag off to Bowens, who cleans house. A spinning torture rack faceplant gets two on Johnson, who Death Valley Drivers him into Hail To The King from Lethal. The Figure Four is blocked and Bowens clotheslines his way out of trouble. Joe comes in and yells at Lethal for clotheslining him, meaning it’s the Koquina Clutch to Lethal and a twisting armbar to Johnson for the double tap at 11:48.

Rating: B-. I can go for Bowens getting to do something of note after so many months of just floating around. The more aggressive style worked well for him here and the armbar is a fine way to go. This has me intrigued to see more and that’s not something I’ve gotten to say about a Bowens match for a long time. Nice fit here, which I didn’t see coming.

Post match Bowens talks about how confused he was for a long time, but then he found the Opps and it’s a perfect fit. He is the pride of professional wrestling and your hero, crediting Joe with his change of attitude. Joe tells Will Ospreay that decisions have consequences and while Ospreay sees it as a dream match, it’s going to be a nightmare.

We look at Swerve Strickland attacking Bandido last night at Supercard Of Honor.

Brody King threatens Strickland with violence but Bandido says he has to do this one himself.

Megan Bayne/Lena Kross vs. Allie Katch/Kaia McKenna

Non-title Eliminator match with a five minute time limit. Bayne knocks Katch into the corner to start and it’s off to Kross for the rapid fire elbows to the face. Everything breaks down and the non-champions get slammed into each other. The Divine Intervention finishes Katch at 1:50.

Video on the Double Or Nothing Women’s Title match.

Athena and Mina Shirakawa bicker before their Owen Hart Cup match.

We look at Nigel McGuinness beating Josh Woods at Supercard Of Honor.

We look at Lio Rush’s “star making performance” from last night. Not exactly no.

Rush, being rather normal, says “these things happen”, when asked about Action Andretti costing him the match. He insists it’s fine, but when interviewer Nigel McGuinness leaves, he takes off his sunglasses to reveal red eyes as black goo drips out of his mouth. Anything in wrestling involving “black goo” is not a good idea. Free lesson of the day.

The Dogs/Mark Davis vs. The Rascalz

Clark Connors beats up a production worker for dropping something. The Rascalz triple team Davis to start and manage to knock him down in the corner. Everything breaks down and the Rascalz get to strike Davis down inside. The Dogs make a save and Wentz gets triple teamed down as we take a break.

We come back with Connors running over to break up a tag attempt as Wentz is still in trouble. Wentz fights up a few seconds later and gets the tag off to Reed to clean house. The Dogs cut that off and it’s back to Davis, who takes too long setting up a double Doomsday Device. That’s broken up with a double superplex and the Rascalz hit a triple dive. Reed cutters both Dogs but gets piledriven by Davis, setting up the Last Clip to give Finlay the pin at 11:33.

Rating: B-. The match was entertaining, but I could really go for more tag matches with, you know, tags throughout. I get that things are going to break down eventually as almost all tag matches do, but it shouldn’t be this much of the match. Davis and the Dogs worked well enough here and the Dogs certainly need the wins.

Anna Jay has a lot left to do and Tay Melo is here with her. Their team seems to be back.

AEW World Title: Darby Allin vs. Sammy Guevara

Allin is defending and it’s No Countout again. Allin looks down at the title…and Guevara stomps him onto it for a smart move. The bell rings and Guevara goes outside to set up the table (because No Countout means No DQ) and a ladder (because of course). Guevara’s Swanton off the ladder sends Allin through the table and we’re less than two minutes into the match.

Back in and the GTH is countered into the Scorpion Deathlock but Allin collapses with the hold on. For some reason that’s not a stoppage and Guevara drops a springboard splash for two. Allin knocks him off the top but the Coffin Drop is broken up and Guevara sends Allin crashing out to the floor. Back in and Three Amigos give Guevara two and we hit the chinlock.

We take a break and come back with Guevara diving into a choke but making the rope. Guevara is back up with a shot to the face but Allin kicks him in the face and hits a springboard shoulder. A pair of GTH’s and a frog splash give Guevara two so he puts Allin on a table at ringside. The 630 misses for Guevara and a Coffin Drop retains the title at 17:06.

Rating: C+. I get what they’re going for with Allin but I’m at the point where I really could go for a break from him. Seeing the same person headline show after show in a 15-20 minute match is losing its charm. The match was far from bad, but I’m looking forward to Allin losing the title just so he’s away for a little while. Throw in him reaching Super Cena levels of surviving stuff and it’s even worse.

Overall Rating: B-. I liked the show for the most part, as it felt more like a show that was focusing on setting things up while also doing some stuff here. That’s not usually the case with Collision but they have been doing a bit better in recent weeks. If that’s becoming the new norm, Collision will get a lot more useful in a hurry. For now, good stuff, even if I’m rather over the Allin stuff.

Results
Conglomeration b. Shane Taylor Promotions – Jay Driller to Dean
Willow Nightingale b. Red Velvet – Babe With The Powerbomb
Opps b. Lethal Twist – Double submission
Megan Bayne/Lena Kross b. Allie Katch/Kaia McKenna – Divine Intervention to Katch
The Dogs/Mark Davis b. The Rascalz – Last Clip to Reed
Darby Allin b. Sammy Guevara – Coffin Drop

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

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

Supercard Of Honor 2026
Date: May 15, 2026
Location: Wicomico Youth And Civic Center, Salisbury, Maryland
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

It’s time for another big show and there are some important matches this time around. In this case, we have the World Title being defended for the first time since December, along with a six way elimination match for the Women’s Title. Basically we have a bunch of title matches up and down the card with a few other things included. Let’s get to it.

The opening video, with the audio not working (though you can hear the production team talking about the issues) looks at the bigger matches on the card. Nothing wrong with that.

Thankfully the audio is fine for the show itself.

Kickoff Show: Sammy Guevara vs. Action Andretti

So I guess the Tag Team Titles aren’t being defended. Thanks for wasting months talking about how teams are moving up the ranks and all that jazz. The answer is Beast Mortos “can’t be here tonight”. And that’s fine enough for the titles not being defended since March I guess.

Anyway, Guevara flips Andretti off instead of shaking his hand before the bell and gets his wrist cranked instead. Some rollups give Andretti some near falls and Guevara isn’t sure what to do early on. Another offer of a handshake lets Guevara slick back his hair, which Andretti then messes up. A clothesline sends Guevara outside for a suicide dive, only for Guevara to hit a fast dropkick back inside.

The big running twisting dive connects but Andretti is back with a running dive of his own. Back in and Guevara’s knee knocks Andretti out of the air for two and it’s time for Guevara to get cocky again. The Samoan drop, with squats, drops Andretti and Guevara says he should be getting the World Title shot. Andretti is back up with a backflip into a Stunner and they’re both down. They trade shots to the face until Andretti comes back with a handspring elbow.

Guevara rolls outside before Andretti can come off the top…so Andretti bounces to the apron and hits an Asai moonsault in a pretty awesome sequence. Back in and the running shooting star press gives Andretti two but the torture rack neckbreaker is broken up. A flipping powerslam gives Andretti two more but Guevara flips him into a DDT. The GTH finishes for Guevara at 11:30.

Rating: B-. Nice opener here, though finding out that the Tag Team Titles won’t be defended is quite the disappointment. The titles have basically disappeared for a long time now and this isn’t going to help things. At least both of them got to fly around and pop the crowd a good bit, which is why you have a match like this as the opener.

Post match Guevara introduces Rush, who beats up Andretti before starting his match.

Kickoff Show: Rush vs. LSG

Bull’s Horns finish LSG in 42 seconds.

Kickoff Show: Lacey Lane/Janai Kai vs. Mina Shirakawa/Queen Aminata

Kai rolls Shirakawa up for two to start but Shirakawa gets to slide into the dancing. Shirakawa takes over before it’s off to Aminata to suplex Lane. The sliding knee gives Aminata two and Shirakawa grabs the Figure Four. The other two get in a fight, which breaks things up and everything breaks down.

Aminata headbutts the heck out of Lane and they all need a breather. Back up and Aminata and Shirakawa win a forearm off but Aminata gets double teamed to the apron. That’s broken up as Shirakawa comes in with a dropkick, setting up the Figure Four to make Kai tap at 7:43.

Rating: C+. This was another added on match which did little more than let Shirakawa and Aminata be out there. Lane and Kai were fine enough but they were more or less glorified crash test dummies. It was completely acceptable, but it was only there to fill in a spot on the card.

Kickoff Show: Rascalz vs. Premiere Athletes

Xavier blasts Nese with a dropkick to start and busts out some jumping jacks. It’s off to Reed, who gets sent into the corner and hammered down to put the Athletes in control. That doesn’t last long as Xavier fights back and hits a running shooting star press. Mark Sterling offers a quick distraction though and a DDT puts Xavier down.

A bunch of choking on the floor gives Daivari two on Xavier as the massive cheating is on. Xavier fights up and hits a heck of a right hand, allowing the tag off to Reed. Everything breaks down and Xavier gets elevated DDTed. An other the shoulder Tombstone gives Nese two on Reed but Daivari knocks Nese down by mistake.

The Athletes are sent outside for Reed’s big running cutter off the apron. Wentz cutters Mark Sterling on the floor and Reed kicks Daivari down. Back up and the hammerlock DDT into the Magic Carpet Ride gives Daivari two, with Wentz flipping in for the save. Nese gets put in a fireman’s carry, with a top rope double stomp setting up a reverse Samoan driver to give Reed the pin at 11:26.

Rating: B-. It’s another fast paced and entertaining match, though it’s also a match that didn’t add much. I’m not sure what the point was in having the Athletes lose here after they were on a winning streak, but at least it was to a talented team like the Rascalz. As usual, the key is to do something with them and you never know if or when that might happen.

And now, the show proper.

Nigel McGuinness vs. Josh Woods

Pure Rules. McGuinness can’t get a wristlock to start and his front facelock earns him a trip into the corner. McGuinness grabs the ears of all things and Woods goes to the ropes for his first break. A short armscissors makes McGuinness use his own first break but he’s right back to work on Woods’ arm. That’s reversed into a sleeper and McGuinness has to go to the rope again. McGuinness rolls outside and grabs a headset, saying this isn’t going how he was expecting.

Woods gets on a headset and says this is going EXACTLY as he was expecting. Referee: “Gentlemen, I don’t know how you expected this to go. If you don’t get in the ring by the time I get to 20, you can expect to be counted out.” Hahahahahaha! They do in fact get back inside where McGuinness gives him a quick forearm (legal), which has Woods driving the two of them into the corner. McGuinness grabs a guillotine choke and Woods has to use his second rope break, causing McGuinness to do pose in celebration.

Woods charges at him and accidentally burns his third rope break as McGuinness outsmarts him again. They go outside and Woods rams him into the barricade to take over, followed by a backbreaker for two back inside. The ankle lock makes McGuinness use his last rope break but he hits something like a Tower Of London (more like a reverse Sling Blade than a stunner) on the floor.

They forearm it out on the floor and then keep it going inside until stereo boots to the face leave both of them down. Woods backbreakers him into a hard lariat for two and the ankle lock goes on again. McGuinness sends him into the corner for the break but can’t get the London Dungeon. The rebound lariat gives McGuinness the pin at 14:53.

Rating: B. Uh, ok then. This felt like it was going to be Woods beating the legend to finally get another Pure Rules Title shot and end Moriarty’s crazy long reign. Instead, McGuinness outsmarts him and scores something of an upset. I like the idea of McGuinness outsmarting him, but Woods losing here is quite the surprise.

Post match respect is shown.

We recap Viva Van challenging Red Velvet for the Women’s TV Title. Velvet is on a roll and has been rather awesome since her return. Van won one match and got the title shot. Literally her first win in ROH after seventeen losses. Commentary explains that a lot of it is due to her success outside of ROH, which basically says that promotions outside of ROH are more important.

Women’s TV Title: Viva Van vs. Red Velvet

Velvet is defending and dances a bit to avoid a test of strength. Van pulls her into a cross armbreaker but Velvet reverses and sends her out to the apron. Back in and Van grabs a dragon screw legwhip, followed by a Brock Lock to stay on the leg. The bow and arrow is broken up and they trade forearms from their knees, with Van doing a cool sit up to get back in Velvet’s face.

Velvet sends her into the corner and hammers away but gets caught in an electric chair. That’s reversed into a hurricanrana and they trade spinning shots to the face for a double near fall. Velvet’s basement superkick connects but Straight Outta Your Mama’s Kitchen is blocked. They go into the corner where Velvet has to escape an electric chair and grabs an Iconoclasm for two. Van’s implant DDT gets two and they trade rollups for two each, only for Velvet to hit the spinning kick to the head and retain at 11:18.

Rating: B-. It was a pretty nice match but there was zero reason to believe that Van was going to win here. I get the idea of “she’s done well everywhere else” but that means very little in ROH. There are all kinds of other people who could have gotten the title shot here and while Van is talented, she needed a MUCH better build up to get the title shot.

We look at AR Fox winning the TV Title last night and immediately being challenged by that wacky Lio Rush.

TV Title: Lio Rush vs. AR Fox

Fox is defending and gets suckered into the corner by the rather out there Rush. A cheap shot doesn’t get Rush very far as Fox sends him into the corner for some creepy speaking into the camera. Back up and Rush hits a running clothesline to send Fox out to the apron. Rush charges into a boot though and the running flipping double stomp on the apron connects for Fox.

Some elbows in the corner have Rush in more trouble so he bites Fox’s ear. Fox is sent outside for a big dive and a hard whip into the barricade. Back in and Rush hammers away, with an elbow to the face getting two. The chinlock goes on until Fox fights out and grabs a swinging DDT. A suplex neckbreaker drops Rush for two and here is Action Andretti at ringside.

Fox’s rolling cutter gets two more but he has to bail out of the 450. Rush spears him for two of his own and a springboard Stunner sends Fox outside. Of course that means a suicide dive, followed by a running Spanish Fly back inside. The Final Hour gives Rush two and it’s time to grab the belt. The referee doesn’t approve and takes it away, allowing Andretti to shove Rush off the top. Fox drops the 450 to retain at 15:41.

Rating: B. I was digging this a lot more until Andretti got involved. Fox wasn’t beaten, but I’m not wild on having someone help him in his first title defense. At the same time, at least Fox keeps the title and Rush seems to be spun off into something of his own. Andretti vs. Rush isn’t the most thrilling feud, but I’ll take something with a personal story over a bunch more random matches any day.

Sammy Guevara is upset about not defending the Tag Team Titles so he wants the World Title. The AEW World Title that is, as why would he want the Ring Of Honor version?

We recap Diamante challenging Deonna Purrazzo for the Women’s Pure Rules Title. Purrazzo is the inaugural champion while Athena wants her minions to hold all of the titles. Therefore, Diamante is trying to steal the Fujiwara armbar to get the title.

Women’s Pure Rules Title: Diamante vs. Deonna Purrazzo

Purrazzo is defending under Pure Rules and takes her into the corner to start. The short armscissors sends Diamante to the ropes for her first break and she pulls Purrazzo outside to strike away. Back in and Diamante fires off some chops in the corner, with Purrazzo having to use her first break to escape an ankle lock (interesting as she was already holding the rope when it went on, which feels like it could be a loophole).

A right hand earns Diamante a warning but she ties Purrazzo’s leg over the top rope. That means a running dropkick to the back can send Purrazzo crashing out to the floor for a crash. Back in and Purrazzo hits a desperation boot to the face and they’re both down. Diamante’s German suplex gets two and she gets the Fujiwara armbar.

Purrazzo is right back up with her own right hand, followed by a DDT for two. Purrazzo’s Fujiwara armbar has Diamante burning through her second break and she escapes again, earning herself a piledriver for two more. Diamante flips her off so it’s a powerbomb into the Venus de Milo to retain the title at 13:01.

Rating: B-. This worked well enough and a lot of that is because they had built up a story between the two of them. There was a reason to want to see Purrazzo beat Diamante and get some revenge, particularly by hurting the arm. I’m not sure who is supposed to beat Purrazzo, but I can go with the idea of building someone up instead of just a random title match.

Action Andretti says he turned on Lio Rush because Rush wasn’t there for him earlier tonight. He felt forgotten and that isn’t working for him. Cru is done.

We recap the Pure Rules Title match, which is the opposite end of the spectrum. Lee Moriarty is the seemingly unbeatable champion and he’s just giving Ace Austin a shot (yes they have a history elsewhere, but not around here so it’s basically cold).

Pure Rules Title: Ace Austin vs. Lee Moriarty

Moriarty is defending under Pure Rules. Moriarty takes him to the mat but his headscissors is reversed into a leglock. That’s countered into an armbar but Austin nips up and gets in a knockdown of his own. Moriarty’s armbar has Austin using his first break but he pulls Moriarty into a Muta Lock. A snap of the fingers gets Moriarty out so Austin drives him into the corner.

Moriarty twists the neck and works on the arm, with a suplex connecting for two. They fight over a cross arm choke until Moriarty goes back to the fingers. That’s reversed as well and Austin pulls him into a Koji Clutch, with Moriarty using his first break. A Death Valley Driver rocks Moriarty again but he cuts off a charge and snaps Austin’s arm over the top. Back in and the Border City Stretch goes on, with Austin reversing into a rollup for two more.

A leg trap cradle gets two as Moriarty has to use his second break. Back up and one more armbar makes Austin use his last rope break so Moriarty goes for the arm again. This time Austin sends him crashing out to the floor for the break and a breather. Back in and the Koji Clutch makes Moriarty use his last break, allowing him to grab a chickenwing. With Austin escaping, Moriarty switches into a European Clutch while grabbing the rope to retain at 16:07.

Rating: B. Heck of a match here as Austin is on an absolute roll. At the same time, I have no idea what is next for the title. Josh Woods lost and we’ve done Nigel McGuinness vs. Moriarty. That’s the problem with basically a three person “division” and a bunch of thrown out there challengers. Either way, rather good match here, with Austin needing to get a big win sooner or later. He has stood out when he gets a chance, but he needs to turn that into something.

Red Velvet is annoyed that she’s not in the Women’s Owen Hart Tournament. Willow Nightingale is, so Velvet is coming for the TBS Title on Collision.

Bustah And The Brain want the Tag Team Titles. For now though, they’ll settle for facing anyone who wants a piece of them. This brings out the Kingdom of all people for quite the surprise. They’re in for the challenge.

Six Man Tag Team Titles: Shane Taylor Promotions vs. ???

The Promotions are defending in an open challenge (which came after Bustah And The Brain’s open challenge and Red Velvet accepting an open challenge) with….Dalton Castle and the Outrunners accepting. Thank goodness, as they’re the absolute most logical challengers. Bravo knocks Floyd into the corner to start and gets elbowed in the face for his efforts. It’s off to Castle vs. Dean, who has to grab the ropes to escape Castle’s suplex attempt.

The Bang A Rang is blocked as well so it’s Magnum coming in and welcoming Bravo’s chops. A slingshot cutter works a bit better for Bravo and the champs crush Magnum on the apron. Back in and a clothesline gives Bravo two and Dean grabs a front facelock. The backdrop gets Magnum out of trouble but it’s too early for the tag, as Bravo pulls Floyd off the apron. A flip over the back allows the tag off to Floyd though and house is quickly cleaned.

Taylor breaks up the Mega Powers elbow (that monster) and one heck of a right hand knocks Floyd silly. Dean hits a Bronco Buster and some elbows get a quick two. Taylor even crotches Floyd against the post to keep him in trouble. The delayed suplex drops Floyd again and Taylor comes in for an even more delayed suplex. Floyd atomic drops his way out of trouble but Magnum is knocked off the apron again.

Taylor plants Floyd for two and we hit the chinlock. Back up and Taylor misses a charge into the corner, allowing Floyd to hit a slam. Castle gets back up for the tag and manages a German suplex on Taylor. The Bang A Rang is blocked again and Christyan XO’s distraction sets up a Marcus Garvey Driver for two. The Outrunners cut the Infantry off though and it’s a Bang A Rang to Taylor. That sets up the Mega Powers Elbow for the pin and the titles at 17:46.

Rating: C+. This was rather long but absolutely the right result, as the Promotions are hardly the most thrilling team in the world and it was time for them to lose the titles. Castle and the Outrunners have been built up as a successful three man team and then they beat the champions. They missed the peak of the Outrunners’ overness and didn’t give them anything then, but at least they finally got something. This isn’t rocket science and they made it work just fine here. Just maybe trim the match down a bit, as seventeen minutes was a good while too long.

Post match the rest of the Promotions come in for the beatdown but Orange Cassidy and Mark Briscoe make the save. Cassidy and Floyd do the big handshake.

We recap Mark Davis defending the AEW National Title against CMLL’s Xelhua. The match was announced earlier this week. End of recap.

AEW National Title: Mark Davis vs. Xelhua

Davis is defending. Feeling out process to start until Davis kicks him into a headlock. A hammerlock sends Davis over to the rope so Davis knocks him down for a backsplash. Back up and Xelhua ties up the arms and poses, with Davis having to bail out to the floor. That means Davis can hit a running shoulder and fire off the rather loud chops. Back in and a hard kick to the chest gives Davis two, followed by the hard shots in the corner.

Xelhua is sent crashing out to the floor, with Davis throwing him back inside and going for the mask. That fires Xelhua up for a high crossbody and a northern lights suplex for two. A hammerlock drop gives Xelhua two more but Davis enziguris him into the ropes. The lariat is reversed into an ankle lock, sending Davis over to the ropes for the break. Xelhua slams him down but misses a top rope backsplash. Davis hits the piledriver and running clothesline for the pin at 14:15.

Rating: B-. It was a fine power vs. power match but it was ice cold coming in and that’s not the best way to go. I get the idea of the National Title being the traveling title, but that doesn’t mean much when you have so many other people jumping back and forth between ROH and AEW. It doesn’t feel special and that needs to change if this title is supposed to mean something around here.

Shane Taylor Promotions want the AEW Trios Titles and the challenge is on for Collision.

Here’s what’s coming on Collision.

The Conglomeration is ready to fight on Collision so the Promotions’ challenge is accepted. Mark Briscoe’s word of the day is “home town a** whupping”. That’s…never mind.

We recap Bandido defending the World Title against Blake Christian. Bandido won Survival Of The Fittest to retain the title over five challengers, including Christian. Now Christian wants his one on one title shot. Ignore that we are five and a half months removed from Survival Of The Fittest.

Ring Of Honor World Title: Bandido vs. Blake Christian

Bandido is defending and Lee Johnson/Jay Lethal are here with Christian. Naturally Christian bails to the floor to start before coming back in so Bandido can flip around him. Bandido knocks him into the corner for the chops, which seem to hurt his own hand. A headscissors sends Christian outside for the suicide dive but he’s right back up with one of his own.

Back in and Christian starts in on the leg, including a double knee stomp. Bandido fights up and heads to the top, where Lethal grabs his leg. That means a double ejection but Christian uses the distraction to hit a Death Valley Driver for two. Christian grabs a short armscissors but Bandido rolls away as Christian goes up top. Bandido gets tied in the Tree Of Woe for the double stomp and a triangle choke has him in more trouble.

That’s reversed into the sitout powerbomb and Bandido jumps up top for the corkscrew crossbody. A running knee gives Bandido two but the 21 Plex is blocked. Christian goes after the leg but Bandido muscles him up for a suplex. Some rolling northern lights suplexes give Bandido two but an exchange of kicks goes to Christian. Bandido is knocked outside for a suicide tornado DDT, followed by the Lethal Injection for two back inside. Christian knocks him back to the floor and let’s load up the announcers’ table.

That earns him a suplex onto the table and they go back inside, where the 21 Plex gives Bandido two. They go up top, where Christian hits a super poisonrana into a springboard 450 for two more. Christian’s 21 Plex is blocked and Bandido knocks him down again. The shooting star press his raised knees though and they’re both down.

Bandido avoids another Lethal Injection but gets superkicked into a Spanish Fly for two. With nothing else working, Christian grabs the belt and uses the distraction to hit Bandido low. A double stomp to the head gives Christian two but Bandido is back with a Styles Clash. The 21 Plex, with Christian on the mat instead of on the ropes, retains the title at 26:03.

Rating: B+. It felt like a big match and Bandido continues to deliver while he’s around. The problem is simply that he isn’t around very often and that makes for a weird World Title situation. This match should have happened a few months ago to really hit the peak of the story, but it was SO refreshing to have a story built up rather than just throwing it out there. Heck of a match here, which shouldn’t be a surprise at all given who was out there.

Post match Swerve Strickland runs out to beat down Bandido before their match at Double Or Nothing.

We recap Survival Of The Fittest. Athena has been Women’s Champion for about 28 years now and is defending against five women at once. It’s not like most women feel like a threat to her so this is the best they can do.

Women’s Title: Athena vs. Zayda Steel vs. Maya World vs. Trish Adora vs. Yuka Sakazaki vs. Billie Starkz

Athena is defending under elimination rules. Steel is rapped to the ring and Athena gets a highlight video. Athena yells at Starkz to start and they go outside, which is broken up rather quickly. Back in and we get a four way crisscross until Adora spears Steel and World. That doesn’t do much as World is up for an Asai moonsault onto everyone else.

Back in and Steel’s top rope double stomp gets two on Adora, leaving Athena to toss World and Sakazaki at the same time. Steel throws a chair at Athena’s face and then uses it to clean house (remember No DQ). The chair is wedged into the corner but Steel is sent head first into it to give Athena the elimination at 5:03.

Athena kicks the chair out but World is there to kendo stick her down. Adora gets the stick and cleans house as Athena throws in a trashcan. Adora’s suplex drops World and everyone heads outside, with Starkz loading up a table (of course). Sakazaki is sent into the barricade and Adora is sent into Athena for a spear to put Athena down. Starkz’s slingshot piledriver gets two on World and Adora chokeslams Athena through a pile of open chairs at ringside, leaving Athena looking rather dead.

Starkz clears off the announcers’ table but Adora plants her with a Death Valley Driver. Sakazaki hits the Magical Girl Splash to put Athena through a table but walks into a backbreaker back inside. The Lariat Tubman hits Athena…and Sakazaki cuts off the cover, with commentary calling that out as a dumb move. Sakazaki gives Adora a spinning faceplant for the pin at 15:39.

A Magical Girl Splash with the trashcan hits Athena but Starkz makes the save (which makes a bit more sense). Starkz gives Sakazaki a super Pancake for the pin at 17:25 and we’re down to Starkz, World and Athena. A Canadian Destroyer gives Starkz two on World so Athena grabs some kendo sticks. Athena and Starkz use the sticks to unload on World and then bury her in chairs. Naturally it’s ladder time but World dropkicks it into Athena. Starkz goes up and gets punched by Athena by mistake, allowing World to hit a sunset bomb onto the chairs for the pin at 21:47.

The two of them head outside, where Athena misses a belt shot and gets planted onto the apron for two. An over the back faceplant gives World two and she grabs an ankle lock. Athena blocks Starkz from throwing in the towel and plants World onto the chair. An O Face off the ladder drops World and retains the title at 26:12.

Rating: B-. I could have gone for a lot fewer weapons here, with the ladder for the O Face being the only real highlight. The problem is we’ve seen so many weapons based matches around AEW in recent months that this really doesn’t mean as much. Athena winning is something of a surprise, as I have no idea how she is supposed to lose. As long as it isn’t to Starkz, it should be ok, but good grief that would be a lame ending to the title reign. For now though, good enough match, but not quite as awesome as I was expecting.

Post match Diamante comes out to celebrate but Starkz and Athena argue. Starkz leaves to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. There’s a lot of really good stuff on here, but as usual at the end of a Tony Khan produced pay per view, I do not want to see these people again for a long time. This show was really, really long and came after two other Ring Of Honor shows this week. The action was rather good throughout, but they could have easily dropped the National Title match and trimmed some others. As usual, too much going on, but that might be outweighed by the matches actually feeling important for a change. Just fix the Tag Team Title situation and it’s a lot better. Good show, and with some tweaks it could have been great.

Results
Sammy Guevara b. Action Andretti – GTH
Rush b. LSG – Bull’s Horns
Mina Shirakawa/Queen Aminata b. Lacey Lane/Janai Kai – Figure Four to Kai
Rascalz b. Premiere Athletes – Top rope double stomp/reverse Samoan driver combination to Nese
Nigel McGuinness b. Josh Woods – Rebound lariat
Red Velvet b. Viva Van – Spinning kick to the head
AR Fox b. Lio Rush – 450
Deonna Purrazzo b. Diamante – Venus de Milo
Lee Moriarty b. Ace Austin – European Clutch while holding the ropes
Mark Davis b. Xelhua – Running clothesline
Bandido b. Blake Christian – 21 Plex
Athena won Survival Of The Fittest last eliminating World

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

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

Ring Of Honor
Date: April 30, 2026
Location: WJCT Studios, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We’re coming up on Supercard Of Honor and the top of the card has mostly come together. That isn’t something that happens very often with big time Ring Of Honor events but they’re pulling it off this time. Unfortunately there is only so much of a connection between what we see here and what is being promoted for the show. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Konosuke Takeshita vs. Matt Menard

Well that’s a surprise. They take turns backing each other up against the ropes until Takeshita takes him down. A slam sends Takeshita outside, which feels like something of an overreaction. Back in and Takeshita knocks him into the corner for the knees to the head in the corner. Takeshita grabs the chinlock but Menard fights up and sends him into the corner for the right hands. The exchange of forearms goes to Takeshita and he hits a Blue Thunder Bomb for two. The running knee finishes for Takeshita at 6:43.

Rating: C. There wasn’t much to be seen here as there was only going to be so much you could get out of Takeshita vs. Menard. I’m not entirely sure why Takeshita was here and especially with no promotion, but it’s nice to have a surprise every so often. If nothing else it was nice to have a relatively quick match, as Menard losing pretty fast is a good thing.

Shane Taylor vs. Mance Warner

Dang they’re throwing some curves into this one and somehow Warner has never wrestled in Ring Of Honor. They forearm it out with Warner firing off some overhand chops to send him outside. That means a running poke to the eye but Taylor rams him back first into the post. Taylor’s running legdrop connects on the apron and puts Warner in a chair for a running elbow.

Back in and a big clothesline drops Warner again, followed by a release Rock Bottom. The big splash gives Taylor two but the middle rope version misses. Warner fires off some clotheslines and hits a belly to back suplex before going to grab the chair. Said chair is used for a running tornado DDT but Taylor’s knee to the face gets two more. The Marcus Garvey Driver finishes Warner at 8:07.

Rating: C+. This was a hard hitting fight and I get why you would have Taylor win, though if Warner is available, he’s worth having around. I could go with seeing him around to do some insane talking as he would certainly add some spice to the show. Of course that’s assuming this isn’t a one off appearance, though that would be a bit of a surprise.

The Premiere Athletes warn everyone against laying a hand on Mark Sterling.

Stori Denali vs. Jacey Love

Mark Sterling is here too and threatens anyone who even looks at him the wrong way. Denali shoves her into the corner and Love’s dropkicks to the leg don’t do much good. The tornado DDT is blocked and a chokeslam finishes for Denali at 2:27.

Alan Angels vs. Lio Rush

Just in case you thought you might not have to watch Rush be WEIRD for a week. Angels snaps off a running hurricanrana to start so Rush does his bug eyed crawling. They run the ropes until Rush takes him down for a spinning kick to the head. Rush goes outside and screams at a chop, only for Angels to stomp on his back on the way back inside. A bridging northern lights suplex gives Angels two so Rush starts moving faster and catches Angels on top.

Angels bites the ear but gets caught with the springboard Stunner for two. A powerbomb out of the corner plants Rush again and Angels’ spinning kick to the head gets two more. They go to a pinfall reversal sequence for a bunch of one counts each until Angels rolls some half and half suplexes. The top rope splash gives Angels two so they head to the apron, where Rush hits another Stunner. Rush does his weird (because he’s WEIRD) running around the ring into a suicide dive, followed by a toss Blue Thunder Bomb to finish Angels at 9:33.

Rating: B-. Yeah……this Rush thing is not for me at all. He wrestles pretty much the same match but now he does the big eyes and weird hopping stuff as well. I’d be fine with Rush being around in another form, say as himself rather than with Action Andretti in a low level tag team, but this isn’t working for me.

We look at Diamante mocking Deonna Purrazzo last week.

Deonna Purrazzo vs. Remi Reade

Non-title Pure Rules match. Purrazzo easily escapes a headscissors to start and mocks Reade a bit before grabbing a backslide for one. Reade slips away from her and gets in the same mock, with Purrazzo approving. Back up and Purrazzo backs her into the ropes, which counts as the first break. The threat of the Fujiwara armbar sends Reade over to the ropes (not a break) so Purrazzo goes with a powerbomb. Now the Fujiwara armbar makes Reade tap at 3:07.

Rating: C. This was hardly going to be some big, amazing match and that’s what we wound up getting. Purrazzo wrestled her down and won with a mixture of stuff, which is a good way to go for her. Purrazzo’s big match is in two weeks, even though there is little reason to believe that her title is in danger.

Top Flight vs. Soleil/Gringo Loco

Loco kicks at Darius to start but can’t get very far with a headscissors on the mat. Soleil comes in and picks up the pace (which was already up in the first place) and gets sent into the wrong corner. That doesn’t last long as Soleil hits a dive to the floor to take Darius out again. Some running kicks to the head get two on Soleil and Loco’s spinning split legged moonsault gets two.

Darius fights up and hands it off to Dante, who has to fight both of them off. A twisting Meteora puts Dante down and it’s Loco dropping a Swanton for two. Everything breaks down and Darius is back in for a German suplex. The double underhook DDT finishes Loco at 6:55.

Rating: B-. Well it was fast paced and energetic, with some good spots and absolutely no reason to believe that either of the teams are going to be doing anything important anytime soon. That’s the case with a lot of people around here and unfortunately it’s where Top Flight is as well. It would be nice to believe that there is a reason to believe otherwise but years of that not happening would suggest otherwise.

IInspiration vs. B3cca/Madison Maxx

Lee grabs a headlock on Maxx to start and the IInspiration clear the ring without much trouble. That means the double pose is on, followed by the double choking in the corner. B3cca comes in and gets beaten up as well, setting up stereo Pedigrees. The Idolizer finishes B3cca at 3:41.

Rating: C. I’m not sure what the IInspiration are supposed to do around here but they need some wins to boost them back up. Granted there is only so much value in having them win a match like this one, but it’s better than nothing. There are only so many women’s teams around in the first place so going with one of the few established ones makes sense.

We get a sitdown interview between Caprice Coleman and….Ian Riccaboni. Actually Riccaboni brings in Red Velvet, which would be a better interview, though Coleman looks nervous because he wasn’t ready for this. And I guess this is going to be on social media later. Ok then.

Viva Van vs. Sara Leon

Van rolls around with a wristlock to start and they go up to a standoff. Leon backs up a bit so Van rolls forward into a pose, leaving Leon to roll her up for two. A hurricanrana out of the corner drops Van, who is right back with a Brock Lock of all things. Leon has to escape a surfboard and gets two, only to get caught in a cross arm electric chair suplex to give Van the pin at 4:28.

Rating: C+. Van hasn’t done much around here but it’s nice to see her get a chance to actually win for a change. If nothing else, you need to have her win on occasion or beating her over and over only means so much. I’ve seen good things from Van elsewhere so maybe this is the start of something for her around here as well.

Paid In Full vs. Nick Halen/Vin Parker

Halen actually gives Keith a running STO for two to start but Keith rakes the eyes. Bill comes in for a running splash in the corner and the spinning Boss Man Slam plants Parker. The big boot finishes Halen at 2:21.

We look at Christian XO’s debut.

Christian XO vs. Frankie B.

The rather tall XO mocks Frankie with an offer of a test of strength and then knocks her down with ease. A Stratusphere has Frankie in trouble but she escapes a fireman’s carry. That just earns Frankie an ax kick (which looked more like a Fameasser) for the pin at 2:19.

TMDK vs. Don Callis Family

It’s RPG Vice and Mark Davis for the Family. Tito and Romero start things off but it’s quickly off to Beretta, who is powered into the corner. Everything breaks down and Davis knees Haste in the face. Haste is sent into the corner and stomped down but he fights up on Romero. The tag brings in Nicholls to clean house until everyone is knocked down for a big breather.

Tito and Davis come back in to slug it out and knock each other down again. They slug it out from their knees and then feet, with Tito hitting a brainbuster for two. A double spinebuster/powerbomb combination gets the same, with Romero and Beretta making the save. Back up and Davis runs Tito over for two before pulling Haste out of the corner for the piledriver. Strong Zero sends Nicholls outside but Tito is back up…and gets lariated for two. Another piledriver finishes Tito at 11:12.

Rating: B-. Another entertaining match with the Family getting to beat TMDK again. If nothing else, it’s nice to see Davis getting to hit that piledriver, which is becoming one of the more devastating moves in AEW/ROH. I’m not sure why we’re seeing so much from RPG Vice as of late, though if they’re signed they might as well be used in some way.

Overall Rating: C+. The pay per view is in about two weeks and one of the four matches announced got any real advancement this week (and that’s a stretch as Purrazzo winning a match isn’t much of an advancement). The rest of the show was just a bunch of stuff like you would see on any other show. I’m sure there will be a bunch of stuff added to Supercard Of Honor at the last minute and some of them will get on the show as a result, but this stuff doesn’t really make me care about most of these people. In other words, it’s Ring Of Honor at its most typical.

Results
Konosuke Takeshita b. Matt Menard – Running knee
Shane Taylor b. Mance Warner – Marcus Garvey Driver
Stori Denali b. Jacey Love – Chokeslam
Lio Rush b. Alan Angels – Toss Blue Thunder Bomb
Deonna Purrazzo b. Remi Reade – Fujiwara armbar
Top Flight b. Gringo Loco/Soleil – Double underhook DDT to Loco
IInspiration b. B3cca/Madison Maxx – Idolizer to B3cca
Viva Van b. Sara Leon – Crossarm electric chair suplex
Paid In Full b. Nick Halen/Vin Parker – Big boot to Halen
Christian XO b. Frankie B. – Ax kick
Don Callis Family b. TMDK – Piledriver to Tito

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

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

Ring Of Honor x Maple Leaf Pro Global Wars Canada
Date: March 27, 2026
Location: St. Clair College SportsPlex, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Don Callis, Ian Riccaboni, Mauro Ranallo

This is a co-promoted show between the two promotions and that means it is time for some brand vs. brand matches. That can make for some interesting matches, hopefully with something to help make the Ring Of Honor booking a bit better than usual. There are some titles on the line as well so let’s get to it.

Note that I do not follow MLP so I apologize in advance for any plot or character details I get wrong.

Adam Priest/Tommy Billington (ROH) vs. Eddie Kingston/Ortiz (ROH)

Kingston and Priest start things off with Priest grabbing a headlock takeover. That doesn’t last long so Kingston takes him into the corner for a back rake from Ortiz. A double suplex drops Priest, who brings Ortiz over to the corner a double suplex with Billington. Ortiz is back with a flapjack for the break and it’s back to Kingston, who is knocked into the wrong corner as well.

Kingston chops his way out of the corner but gets taken down, only for Ortiz to come in for the save. Everything breaks down and it’s a Crossface and half crab to have Kingston and Ortiz in trouble. Those are broken up and it’s a Doomsday bulldog to bring Priest down. Billington is legal though and snaps off some snap suplexes…but Kingston grabs an Oklahoma roll to pin Billington at 9:01.

Rating: C+. Perfectly nice opener here and the fans are going to be into pretty much anything Kingston does. At the same time, I really don’t see the appeal of the team with Ortiz. Maybe they’re hoping he breaks out like Mike Santana did in TNA, but putting a guy who was in a great tag team into a weaker tag team doesn’t seem productive.

Josh Alexander was supposed to be in the ring at this show but he’s hurt his knee and has to undergo knee surgery. The future of his Canadian Title isn’t clear.

Ring Of Honor Women’s TV Title: Alice Crowley (JCW) vs. Red Velvet (ROH

Velvet is defending and Crowley is from Juggalo Championship Wrestling. Crowley kicks the offer of a handshake away and gets rolled up for some early near falls. Crowley shoves her into the ropes, where Velvet hits a pair of kicks to the back of the head. They head outside with Crowley getting in a knockdown, followed by a snap suplex for two back inside.

Velvet is back up to strike away in the corner, only to miss a charge into the corner. A sitout bulldog drops Crowley and Velvet hits the running crotch attack in the ropes. Crowley kicks her in the face though and a Saito suplex gets two. An Iconoclasm pulls Crowley off the top for two but she comes back with an Air Raid Crash for two more. Velvet is done with this though and hits a quick Chef’s Kiss to retain at 8:24.

Rating: B-. This was a more physical match than the opener and they were starting to trade some good stuff in the end. Velvet’s rise up has been rather impressive as she’s a completely different kind of star than she was just a year or so ago. I could go for more of Crowley too as she showed some potential.

Deonna Purrazzo is glad to face Gisele Shaw tonight but Purrazzo has the edge because it’s Pure Rules.

Lethal Twist (ROH) vs. Evil Uno/Bhupinder Gujjar/Psycho Mike (MLP)

Lethal struts away from Mike to start so the larger Mike shoulders him down. The threat of Mike’s signature slam sends Lethal outside so Mike runs over the Swirl on the floor. Back in and the Swirl break up another slam attempt as Callis talks about Kyle Fletcher. Gujjar comes in for a running headscissors to Johnson, followed by a dropkick for two.

Back up and Gujjar gets knocked out of the corner as everything breaks down, with the villains clearing the ring. We settle down to Lethal giving Gujjar a DDT, setting up a double superkick from the Swirl. Gujjar fights out of the corner though and it’s a high crossbody to Lethal. Uno gets the tag and cleans house but runs out of wind trying to hit some running corner clotheslines.

A brainbuster onto the knee gets two on Johnson and Uno neckbreakers Lethal as well. Mike comes back in and fires off the string of slams, including tossing Christian over the top onto the other two. The big dive follows but Gujjar’s high crossbody hits Mike by mistake. A Lethal Injection drops Gujjar but he isn’t legal. Instead Lethal has to escape Mike’s slam and the Swirl is back in to strike away. Hail To The King finishes for Lethal at 12:34.

Rating: B-. Another pretty good match here with a lot of action, even though it’s not the best night for the Canadians thus far. Lethal Twist has been a solid grouping in Ring Of Honor and it makes sense to put them on the show. If nothing else, this continues their momentum for what I’m sure will be the eventual showdown with Bandido over the World Title. As for the other team, while I can’t imagine him becoming the top star, Mike has quite the charisma and the fans liked him a lot. Good for him for getting this popular.

Gisele Shaw knows what she’s doing against Deonna Purrazzo and she’s going to do it her way.

Ring Of Honor Women’s Pure Rules Title: Deonna Purrazzo (ROH) vs. Gisele Shaw (MLP)

Purrazzo is defending under Pure Rules (far more technical style, only three rope breaks as the main rule). Shaw takes her to the mat to start and works on the leg, followed by a quick curtsy. Purrazzo escapes just as fast and armdrags Shaw into an armbar. The Fujiwara armbar sends Shaw into the ropes for the break. The breather lets Shaw take her outside for a kick to the head from the apron.

Back in and Shaw hammers away but charges into a boot in the corner. They knock each other down and it’s a double breather. Purrazzo goes after the arm again but Shaw goes for something like a Disarm-Her. That’s blocked by Purrazzo so Shaw hits a hanging swinging neckbreaker, followed by another Disarm-Her. Purrazzo has to use her first rope break so Shaw grabs Shock And Awe (backbreaker into a Downward Spiral) for two.

A quick Venus de Milo sends Shaw to the ropes for the second time, followed by a piledriver to make Shaw use the third and final rope break. Shaw is back up with a Samoan driver into the Disarm-Her, with Purrazzo using the second break. Purrazzo counters something out of a full nelson and pulls Shaw into the Fujiwara. Shaw’s rope grab means nothing but it lets Purrazzo pull her into the Venus de Milo to retain at 14:11.

Rating: B. Match of the night thus far as they were getting into a good rhythm with Purrazzo having enough of an edge with the technical prowess. She’s good at this style, though I still don’t quite know why she needed a championship to go with it. Shaw is someone who has done well every time I’ve seen her and it would be nice to see her getting a shot on a bigger stage in the future.

We look at Rohan Raja becoming the inaugural holder of the Champions Grail. Stu Grayson is coming for the title.

PWA Champions Grail: Stu Grayson (MLP) vs. Rohan Raja (MLP)

Raja is defending and this is a title recognized by three promotions at once. Grayson runs him over at the bell for an early two and sends Raja outside for the suicide dive. Back in and Grayson snaps off a standing hurricanrana, followed by a legsweep to send Rana outside. There’s a big dive to drop Raja again and Grayson hits a suplex back inside. Grayson goes up but gets dropkicked out to the floor for a big crash.

Back in and Raja knocks him into the corner, setting up a hard whip to send Grayson falling out to the floor. Grayson is fine enough to hit a running clothesline but Raja shoves the referee at the ropes, allowing him to pull Grayson down. A nice kick drops Raja again and Grayson is back up to strike away. Grayson wins the battle of the clotheslines and snaps off a string of belly to belly suplexes.

A tornado DDT sets up a swinging Downward Spiral to drop Raja again and a Lionsault gets two. Raja slips out of a torture rack though and grabs a swinging Boss Man Slam into a quickly broken Rings Of Saturn. The pop up powerbomb drops Raja for two and a top rope superplex does it again. A running knee is loaded up but Raja reverses into a quick small package for the fast pin at 13:11.

Rating: B+. Grayson is someone who wrestles a certain style and that’s not a bad thing at all. He is out there flying around with everything he has and doing everything at top speed, which makes for a fun match. He does a lot better on his own than he does as part of a team and this worked well. Raja didn’t get to do much here, though his limited offense did work well. Very entertaining match here, mainly due to the energy from Grayson.

Ricochet is ready to beat Rich Swann. Yes they started off as a group of wrestlers who helped define high flying wrestling, but the difference is Ricochet has leveled up and is the better man.

Michael Allen Richard Clark (MLP) vs. Jake Crist (Wrestle Revolver) vs. Daisuke Sasaki (DDT) vs. Brent Banks (MLP) vs. Ace Austin (ROH) vs. Michael Oku (RevPro)

One fall to a finish. Before the match, Clark talks about being tired of being treated with disrespect when he is in the Canadian Pushup Hall Of Fame (please let that be a thing). The ring is mostly cleared to start so it’s Oku dropkicking Banks to start until Sasaki makes the save. Crist is back in to kick Sasaki in the face with Clark coming in to break it up. The parade of knockdowns continues with Austin getting his chance, followed by a superkick to Banks.

Clark is back with a dive to the floor to take Austin out so Sasaki hits his own dive. Crist hits a dive onto the pile before Oku can do his own so they fight onto the apron. Banks knocks both of them to the floor so Austin fireman’s carries Sasaki and Banks at the same time. The squats let Austin show off a bit and it’s time to keep knocking each other down. Sasaki Pedigrees Clark and Oku has to break up a double submission.

Everyone but Oku is down but Austin blocks a half crab attempt. Banks’ top rope twisting crossbody hits Austin and a Michinoku Driver gets two. Oku is back up with a dive onto the floor but Crist cuts him off with a Death Valley Driver. Crist’s Ki Crusher gets two so Banks is back in with a Blue Thunder Bomb. Crist cutters Banks but gets caught by Oku’s Six Star Frog Splash for the pin at 10:27.

Rating: B. I’m not huge on these matches but this was pretty much exactly what it should have been. The match was all action with Oku getting to showcase himself well. I’m not sure how much a win really matters here as Oku seems to have just been the one who got a fall first rather than being some dominant star. Either way, at least another ROH star didn’t win, even if an MLP star didn’t win.

Video on Athena, the crazy long running ROH Women’s Champion, defending against Taylor Rising, who is ready to rise.

Ring Of Honor Women’s Title: Taylor Rising (MLP) vs. Athena (ROH)

Athena is defending. They circle each other a bit to start and Athena backs her into the corner. A knockdown lets Athena smile and pose a bit but Rising is back with a headscissors. Rising’s running dropkick sends Athena to the floor but Athena pulls a dive out of the air. Athena sends her hard into the barricade and then into the steps before they head back inside. Some forearms to the back have Rising in trouble and we hit the face pull.

Athena fires off some knees to the chest but Rising is back with a quick victory roll for two. The Codebreaker sets up a 619 and Rising faceplants her for two more. What looks like a Pedigree is blocked though and Athena knees her in the head. A Tombstone gives Athena two and she stops to yell at the referee. Athena teases the O Face but gets back down and beats on Rising a bit more.

Another O Face is broken up and Rising grabs a DDT for two more. Rising’s sunset bomb gets two but Athena Saito suplexes her back down. Athena tunes up the band, only for her superkick to be blocked. Rising tries to pick her up but gets pulled into the Koji Clutch to retain the title at 12:31.

Rating: B. They were in a tough spot here as there was no reason to believe that Athena was going to lose the title on a show like this. That being said, Rising did everything she could to make it work and she had a heck of a performance. This was another good match, with Rising getting in some nice hope spots before falling short. It’s hard to make it work in this kind of a situation but they pulled it off.

MLP President Scott D’Amore announces…well actually introduces a video that announces a new weekly series, Mayhem, which will debut in July on TSN. Points for a huge announcement.

Rich Swann (MLP) vs. Ricochet (AEW)

Apparently they’ve had 75 singles matches over the years. Ricochet stalls to start before getting back inside, with Swann backing him into the corner. Swann spins out of a wristlock and we get another staredown. Ricochet pulls him down into a crossarm choke to slow the pace a bit. Swann quickly reverses into one of his own and they trade stereo dropkicks for another standoff. Swann snaps off a dropkick to the floor and adds a running flip dive off the apron.

Back in and Swann hammers away in the corner so Ricochet goes to the eyes…which just earns him a beating. Another poke to the eye cuts Swann off though and Ricochet gets in some stomping. They go outside, where Ricochet slams him face first onto the floor and heads back inside. Swann beats the count so Ricochet hits a running clothesline to the back in the corner. A running uppercut drops Swann in the corner but he’s back with a rolling clothesline for a needed breather.

Back up and some dancing punches set up a neckbreaker to give Swann two. They head to the apron where Ricochet takes over again, setting up a Lionsault for two back inside. The kickout leaves Ricochet rather frustrated so Swann kicks him in the head on top. A super hurricanrana…doesn’t work as Ricochet sticks the landing, only to get kicked in the head for two. Swann kicks away at the chest and they strike it out. The referee cuts Swann off though, allowing Ricochet to roll some suplexes (different types that is) for two. A Death Valley Driver gives Ricochet two and the Spirit Gun gives him three at 19:15.

Rating: B. This was a hard hitting match and it was entertaining, though my goodness would it kill them to have an ROH/AEW star actually take a fall here? It’s becoming a running joke here and that’s not a great thing to see. What was pretty great was these two, who obviously know each other so well, getting a chance to do it again now that Ricochet is doing something different. Rather fun match here, though it never quite hit that next level.

Multiverse is taking place over Wrestlemania Weekend!

Supercard Of Honor is on May 15!

We run down the Uprising (Saturday night) card. Of note, Steve Maclin is announced for a match though that might not be happening after he was injured at TNA Sacrifice.

MLP Tag Team Titles: Bishop Dyer/Kaito Kiyomiya (MLP) vs. Bryce Hansen/Sheldon Jean (MLP) vs. Good Brothers (MLP) vs. Gates Of Agony (AEW)

For the inaugural titles and one fall to a finish. You might know Dyer better as Baron Corbin. The Gates jump the other teams to start and the brawl goes to the outside rather quickly. Jean and Kiyomiya hit some dives before Kiyomiya and Anderson get inside to slug it out. It’s off to Gallows to strike away at Kaun in the corner and Anderson comes in to strike away.

Anderson drops Jean but it’s off to Liona to clean house. Liona chokes Anderson on the ropes and we hit the nerve hold. Hansen comes in for a forearm to take Anderson down again and Jean gets to stomp away. It’s back to Hansen for a chinlock before Anderson avoids a Liona charge. A cutter takes Kaun down and it’s off to Gallows to clean house. Gallows Jackhammers Jean for two but Kiyomiya comes back in to strike away, including a running knee for two on Kaun.

Everything breaks down and we hit a parade of knockdowns with Anderson hitting a spinebuster and Gallows adding a chokebomb. Kiyomiya makes a save with a knee to Gallows and everyone is down again. Liona throws Kiyomiya and Gallows at the same time (geez) but gets sent into the post. Dyer is sent into Kiyomiya (makes sense as it’s their first match together) and a Magic Killer drops him to give Anderson the pin and the titles at 12:35.

Rating: B. Another fast paced match that wound up being rather entertaining, though it was similar to the scramble earlier in the night. The good thing is that an MLP team FINALLY won a match (and yes they have worked here a few times before). While that team might be the Good Brothers, I’ll take it after watching Ring Of Honor and AEW lay waste to MLP all night.

Post match everyone else leaves and Dyer lays Kiyomiya out to end the show.

Overall Rating: A-. This was actually a heck of a show as the last stretch of matches is one good one after another. While I could have gone for MLP winning more often, the whole show was quite impressive with nothing close to bad and a bunch of quality stuff. MLP has been one of the better independent promotions I’ve seen in a good while, as they might not do anything revolutionary but they do things well. I’ll take that over some ridiculous idea and it was a blast watching this one.

Results
Eddie Kingston/Ortiz b. Tommy Billington/Adam Priest – Oklahoma roll to Billington
Red Velvet b. Alice Crowley – Chef’s Kiss
Lethal Twist b. Evil Uno/Bhupinder Gujjar/Psycho Mike – Hail To The King to Mike
Deonna Purrazzo b. Gisele Shaw – Venus de Milo
Rohan Raja b. Stu Grayson – Small package
Michael Oku b. Ace Austin, Jake Crist, Daisuke Sasaki, Michael Allen Richard Clark and Brent Banks – Six Star Frog Splash to Banks
Athena b. Taylor Rising – Koji Clutch
Good Brothers b. Bryce Hansen/Sheldon Jean, Gates Of Agony and Bishop Dyer/Kaito Kiyamiya – Magic Killer to Dyer

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

CMLL Women’s Title: Lacey Lane vs. Persephone

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

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

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

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

Skyflight vs. Grizzled Young Veterans/Isla Dawn

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

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

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

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

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

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

Myron Reed vs. Mansoor

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

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

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

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

TMDK vs. Better Together

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

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

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

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

Deonna Purrazzo vs. Robyn Renegade

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

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

Nick Comoroto vs. Anthony Ogogo

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Women’s Title: Athena vs. Maya World

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Athena vs. Maya World

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

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

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

Women’s TV Title: Hyan vs. Red Velvet

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jay Lethal and the Swirl want the World Title.

Scorpio Sky vs. Bryan Keith

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

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

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

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

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

Pure Title: Josh Woods vs. Lee Moriarty

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ring Of Honor
Date: February 26, 2026
Location: H-E-B Center At Cedar Park, Cedar Park, Texas
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

I’m back to the point where I don’t know what to expect from these shows and that’s a weird feeling. There are so many titles around here but a bunch of them are either never defended or defended at random and that makes the shows hard to predict. Maybe it’s different this time around so let’s get to it.

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

Shane Taylor Promotions are ready to win their matches tonight, with Trish Adora promising to end Deonna Purrazzo’s luck.

Opening sequence.

JD Drake vs. Adam Priest

The much bigger Drake easily wins a slugout and shoulders Priest down. Priest’s comeback is cut off in a hurry and Drake drops a leg for a quick two. Drake slowly takes him into the corner for the chops but misses a sitdown splash. Priest throws him down for two but Drake takes him up top, where a Priest’s sunset bomb gets two. Drake gets two more off a Shining Wizard so he tries a spinebuster, only to get countered into a rollup to give Priest the pin at 7:25.

Rating: C. Decent enough match between two people who don’t have much going on, at least when it comes to singles status. Drake has just been floating around for a long time now and while he’s a good hand, there isn’t much that makes him stand out. Priest still feels like someone with potential, but his smaller size is going to be a lot to get around.

We look at Skyflight beating TMDK last week in a six man main event.

Frat House vs. TMDK

Garrison slugs away at Tito in the corner to start and a clothesline connects as well. A flapjack/running boot combination drops Tito for two but it’s off to Haste. That means a release Falcon Arrow to Garrison and everything breaks down. Tito takes out Garrison and Haste’s fireman’s carry swung into a spinebuster finishes Karter at 3:37.

Rating: C+. It was a fast paced tag match and TMDK looked dominant, which is why you bring them in for a match against a team like the Frat House. I can’t imagine TMDK sticks around but having them in a two match series like this is fine. Not a great match, but it was entertaining while it lasted.

Women’s TV Title: Zayda Steel vs. Red Velvet

Steel, with her one match winning streak after losing everything else, is challenging. Velvet snaps off some armdrags into an armbar to start before missing some right hands. They trade near falls off some small packages until Steel’s Backstabber out of the ropes gets two. An exchange of running shots in the corner goes to Velvet, who grabs a powerbomb for two more. Steel is back with a spinwheel kick for two but Velvet’s Iconoclasm gets the same. A TKO gives Steel two more and she can’t believe the kickout. Velvet is right back with a spinning kick to the face to retain at 6:02.

Rating: C. This didn’t have much of a story to it as they were just kind of trading moves back and forth until Velvet got the pin. Steel still feels like an interesting prospect, but she needs to string together some wins to shake off the early losing streak. There wasn’t much of a reason for her to get a title shot here, but I’ll take it over the title sitting on the shelf.

Post match respect is shown.

TMDK is happy with their win but they get jumped by Shane Taylor Promotions.

Grizzled Young Veterans/Big Bill/Bryan Keith vs. CJ Tino/Richie Slade/Che Cabrera/Dom Kubrick

Isla Dawn is here with the villains. Keith throws his gear at Tino to start and shoulders him down for two. Slade comes in and gets his arm twisted, allowing Drake to come in as well. Drake lets Slade forearm away to no avail before Gibson unloads with forearms of his own in the corner. Slade slips out of a slam though and hands it off to the muscular Guevara (Latino Meat, which made me chuckle), who wants Bill. That’s what he gets before actually winning a slugout. The Veterans come back in to clean house and Bill’s big boot finishes Tino at 4:32.

Rating: C. This was almost but not quite a squash as the villains ran through everyone but Guevara. I’m not sure why they need to be teaming together but I do like seeing the Veterans actually winning something for a change. It’s a quick match and that’s all it needs to be so I’ll take what I can get.

Post match the winners split some money but are interrupted by Skyflight, who give them a staredown.

Skyflight vs. Adrian Quest/Ricky Gee/Danny Rose

I do appreciate the jobbers having their names on their gear. Quest and Sky start things off with some wristlocking before Darius comes in instead. That earns him a quick triple teaming down and a front facelock from Rose. That’s broken up and Dante comes in to pick up the pace, including an enziguri and springboard high crossbody for two on Gee. Everything breaks down and Gee is catapulted into a cutter to give Dante the pin at 4:34.

Rating: C+. This was another fast paced match and it was nice to see them staying to the point here, with both teams getting to look good. Quest/Gee/Rose seem to be a regular team and I could go for seeing some more of them in the future. They were smart to keep this fast and it worked well enough.

We look back at Jay Lethal turning on Bandido and joining the Swirl.

Jay Lethal vs. Tommy Billington

Billington was barely shown in the clip but at least commentary explains how he’s connected to Lethal. They start fast with Lethal being sent outside for a suicide dive, followed by a backdrop back inside. Lethal is back up with a suplex onto the apron and then a cutter back off of it and they head back inside.

One heck of a chop drops Billington in the corner and Billington hammers away. It’s time to start in on the leg with the Figure Four going on rather quickly. The rope is reached and Billington rolls away from the threat of Hail To The King. Billington catches him up top with a superplex but Lethal is back up again. Lethal takes over again and tries Hail To The King, which is reversed into a crossface. Cue Lee Johnson for a distraction, allowing Lethal to hit the Lethal Injection for the pin at 8:15.

Rating: B-. Lethal having the best match of the night thus far is hardly a surprise as he’s still one of the best in-ring stars in the company. I do like him being added to the biggest story around here as it adds some credibility. I’m just not sure who is going to step in and take him out, though actually getting to the Christian vs. Bandido match that has been teased for months would be nice.

Satnam Singh vs. Jordan Oasis

Oasis slugs away with forearms to start but is quickly sent into the corner. The loud (or in this case, not so loud) chops have Oasis in trouble and we hit a nerve hold. That’s broken up and Oasis goes after the leg, only to get sent to the apron. The chokeslam brings Oasis over the top and plants him down for the pin at 2:54. Pretty standard Singh match.

Deonna Purrazzo says her Pure Rules match against Trish Adora means it’s the two of them, one on one.

Persephone vs. Johnnie Robbie

Persephone rudely backs her up against the ropes to start but gets armdragged down a few times. Robbie’s sunset flip is rolled through for a basement dropkick and a hard kick to the back has her in more trouble. A judo throw and some forearms have Robbie in more trouble and Persephone powers her into the corner. We’re off to the chinlock but Robbie is back up with some kicks to the head for two. Robbie’s knee to the face drops Persephone again but she counters a rollup into a Razor’s Edge to finish Robbie at 5:43.

Rating: B-. Robbie got in a lot of offense here and it was a nice performance from someone who hasn’t been around very often. At the same time, commentary continues to treat Persephone as a huge deal and that is likely going to continue. I’m not sure what she’s going to do, but it doesn’t feel as important when Athena has already beaten her in a big match.

Tony Nese vs. Komander

Before the match, Mark Sterling complains about luchadors like Komander, saying Nese is going to clear them out. Nese backs him into the corner to start and then flips over Komander out of said corner. Komander sends him outside for a suicide dive and chops away against the barricade. A Daivari distraction lets Nese get in a kick to the head and we hit the waistlock.

Nese double stomps the ribs into another waistlock, which has Komander slapping his stomach, which doesn’t count as a tap. Back up and Nese misses a charge into the post, allowing Komander to strike away. A quick DDT drops Nese for two and a double moonsault gets the same. Komander’s regular moonsault hits raised boots but Nese’s pumphandle driver is countered into a rollup for two. The very springboardy DDT plants Nese and Cielito Lindo finishes him at 8:31.

Rating: B-. Komander continues to get in a bunch of offense, though it doesn’t exactly lead to much no matter what he’s doing. Hopefully he gets to do something as he’s right there to go after one of the titles. Then again wins and losses only mean so much around here, which is one of Ring Of Honor’s biggest issues.

We look at Nick Wayne winning the TV Title from Komander last April.

Nick Wayne vs. Lucas Riley

Non-title Proving Ground match, because Wayne being gone since JULY isn’t enough to warrant a title defense. Wayne snapmares him down to start and messes with Riley’s hair, only for Riley to take him down and do the same. Normally this would mean war, but normally this would be a title match. Well actually normally he would have been stripped of the title somewhere in the last six plus months but oh well. Back up and Wayne chops him against the ropes but Riley grabs a Michinoku Driver for two. Wayne’s dragon suplex gets two and he kicks Riley in the head for the pin at 3:45.

Rating: C. I have no idea why this wasn’t a title match. Wayne has been gone for the better part of a year and yet here we are with a Proving Ground match. This is a perfect example of the title situation not making sense around here, as wrestlers will get title matches out of nowhere or after winning one match, but Wayne gets to go into yet another month without defending his title. I get that things might be different, but some kind of logic would be nice.

Women’s Pure Title: Deonna Purrazzo vs. Trish Adora

Purrazzo is defending for the first time since winning the title on December 5. They fight over wrist control to start and Adora bails from the threat of the Fujiwara armbar. Adora pulls her throat first into the ropes, which apparently counts as a rope break. A small package gives Adora two and they forearm it out.

The Lariat Tubman misses and Purrazzo is back with her own clothesline to put them both down. Adora’s bridging German suplex gets two, as does Purrazzo’s nasty powerbomb. The Fujiwara armbar doesn’t work as Purrazzo’s arm gives out thanks to the neck damage. The Lariat Tubman connects but Purrazzo rolls outside. Back in and Purrazzo rolls her into the Fujiwara armbar and leans back to make up for the bad arm for the tap at 9:15.

Rating: B-. Yeah it was fine. There’s still no need for this to be a title, as we went almost two months without the thing being defended and pretty much nothing was lost. Purrazzo is a rather talented star and it’s fun watching her in the ring. That doesn’t mean she needs a title basically customized for her.

Post match Diamante and Billie Starkz run in to beat down Purrazzo, with Adora joining in.

Athena is proud of her minions and wants to beat up Maya World, who attacked her at Global Wars. Therefore World has earned a match with Athena. A Proving Ground match of course. Because Heaven forbid it’s a title match.

Overall Rating: C. This show was back in the good old Ring Of Honor format of frustrating me to no end, as it’s over an hour and forty minutes long with matches seemingly pulled out of a hat. You could have easily dropped a handful of these matches and not lost a thing, but I’m wondering if this was due to the rumored studio show starting soon. Since Ring Of Honor had absolutely no choice but to tape and air all of these matches, they just didn’t have a choice otherwise.

Then you have the title situation, which is somehow getting worse. Either you have people getting title matches after almost no success (Zayda Steel), titles being defended at random after months of activity (Deonna Purrazzo), titles not being defended after a hiatus approaching enough time to conceive and have a baby (Nick Wayne) or just not being defended for three months (Athena, Shane Taylor Promotions, Bandido as of next week), I have no idea how the title process works around here.

There are WAY too many titles though and no sign of them ending, much like there is no sign of this place being well put together. Maybe the studio thing will help that, but I’m having fears of those nearly three hour shows that are just like this, with random matches up and down the card and talks of getting into title contention for hours on end. Not an awful show here, but good grief figure out how things are supposed to go around here and stick to it already.

Results
Adam Priest b. JD Drake – Rollup
TMDK b. Frat House – Fireman’s carry slam to Karter
Red Velvet b. Zayda Steel – Spinning kick to the face
Big Bill/Bryan Keith/Grizzled Young Veterans b. CJ Tino/Richie Slade/Che Guevara/Dom Kubrick – Big boot to Tino
Skyflight b. Adrian Quest/Ricky Gee/Danny Rose – Slingshot cutter to Gee
Jay Lethal b. Tommy Billington – Lethal Injection
Satnam Singh b. Jordan Oasis – Chokeslam
Persephone b. Johnnie Robbie – Razor’s Edge
Komander b. Tony Nese – Cielito Lindo
Nick Wayne b. Lucas Riley – Kick to the head

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

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

Ring Of Honor
Date: January 15, 2026
Location: eSports Stadium Arlington, Arlington, Texas
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

I’m not sure what to expect from this show because things are kinds of all over the place here, as usual. The only big story is Blake Christian coming after the World Title and now has Jay Lethal in his corner. Other than that, we have the usual assortment of people allegedly trying to get into title contention. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Spanish Announce Project vs. Grizzled Young Veterans

Angelico and Drake start things off with Drake wrenching the arm before sending Angelico into the corner. Some alternating elbows in the corner drop Angelico, who fights right back without much trouble. Serpentico comes in to work on the arm and drops a backsplash for two. The Veterans shrug that off and kick them down, with Drake working on Serpentico’s leg.

Gibson grabs a half crab, which is broken up, so Serpentico hits a quick backbreaker. Angelico comes back in to clean house with everything breaking down. Drake sends Angelico into the steps, leaving Gibson to give Serpentico the middle rope Codebreaker. Drake’s springboard dropkick finishes Serpentico off at 8:47.

Rating: C. In case you were wondering what a tag match between two teams going nowhere looks like, here you are. I’m assuming this was the way to heat the Veterans up before they get wrecked by Eddie Kingston and Ortiz, which makes me wonder about the logic when it’s in two different places. Either way, the technical stuff was fine, but these teams are so low on the totem pole that it just doesn’t matter.

Post match the Veterans promise the same for Kingston and Ortiz. Cue the two of them with chairs for the save.

Lance Archer vs. Vin Parker

Chops and a crossbody take Parker down and the Blackout finishes at 1:52. Total decimation, which will in no way get Archer closer to a title shot, even though he’s 15-0 here.

Kiran Grey vs. Shane Taylor

The rest of the Promotions are here with Taylor. Grey gets in a shot to the face and grabs a choke, which is broken up with pure power. A knee to the face rocks Grey and Taylor fires off some shoulders in the corner. Taylor’s big clothesline gets two but Grey sweeps the leg and gets two off a jumping splash. Taylor is back with a release Rock Bottom and his own big splash for two, followed by the right hand for the pin at 5:01.

Rating: C+. They pretty clearly see something in Grey and that’s not a bad thing. He certainly has something of a mystique to him and it’s interesting to see some fresh blood around here. It also helps that he got in a bit of offense and wasn’t totally squashed, so at least there was some protection here.

Frat House vs. Aaron Solo/QT Marshall/Von Erichs

Karter gets dropkicked by Ross to start and it’s off to Marshall for a dropkick of his own. Solo comes in to neckbreaker Garrison, who catches him with a slingshot powerslam. The House takes Solo into the corner for some stomping before Jameson misses a middle rope backsplash. Marshall comes in to clean house and Vance clotheslines Karter by mistake. Stereo Claws set up the cutter to give Marshall the pin at 6:25.

Rating: C. This was about what you would expect from these guys, though I did appreciate it being a bit shorter. The Von Erichs were their usual bland selves and Solo got to be the punching bag for a good chunk. The good thing is that it wasn’t long enough to get dull, making it more “well it could have been worse”, which is about the best you can hope for with these guys.

We look at Trish Adora beating Zayda Steel in last week’s mixed tag.

MxM TV vs. Shane Taylor Promotions

Rare heel vs. heel mixed tag here. Valkyrie and Adora start things off, with Valkyrie hitting a basement clothesline to take over. Madden comes in to elbow Bravo in the back, setting up a finger tip double elbow drop. Mansoor gets caught in the wrong corner though and some clubberin sets up a chinlock. A belly to back suplex gets Mansoor out of trouble and the diving tag brings Valkyrie back in.

The running knees in the corner get two on Adora and they forearm it out. They clothesline each other and it’s back to Madden to clean house as everything breaks down. Mansoor spinebusters Bravo and hits a dive but we pause for a fan to get Mansoor’s attention. Bravo gets in a cheap shot (Bravo to the fan: “BE RIGHT BACK!”) to Mansoor, followed by the double stomp for the pin at 7:04.

Rating: C+. I’m curious about the fan getting involved as it’s better than the same nothing matches that they have over and over. The Promotions are still about the same as usual, meaning they’re only so interesting, but MxM TV playing the heroes for a change made things a bit better. Just find something different for both of them to do already and things could improve.

Post match Bravo brings the fan over the barricade and she’s rather tall.

Red Velvet vs. Robyn Renegade

Non-title Proving Ground match, meaning if Robyn can win or last the time limit, she gets a future title shot. Renegade uses the hair to pull her down to start but Velvet is right back with a short armscissors. That’s reversed into a fall away slam and Renegade throws her out to the floor. Back in and a springboard double stomp to the back gives Renegade two. They trade missed hand licking chops in the corner until Renegade grabs a sitout gordbuster for two more. Velvet gets fired up and hits a leg lariat, followed by the big left hand for the pin at 5:27.

Rating: C. There have only been so many success stories in modern Ring Of Honor but Velvet has been added to the list in recent months. Something has clicked since she returned from her injury and she feels like a star. That’s a nice thing to see and her matches are becoming one of the highlights around here.

Tony Khan announces that Ring Of Honor will be teaming up with Metro Plex Wrestling, run by Athena, on January 29. Athena is rather pleased. Eh it’s something different at least.

Dark Order vs. Swirl

Jay Lethal is here with the Swirl. Christian and Uno start things off, with Christian flipping him off in a few different ways. Uno is back with a knockdown into his own strut, allowing Reynolds to come in for a double basement dropkick. Reynolds fights out of the wrong corner but gets kneed in the face for his efforts. They go outside, with Christian using the chair for a step up forearm to the back.

The chinlock goes on back inside but Reynolds fights up and ties him in the ropes for something like a Black Widow. The tag brings in Uno to clean house, including a big boot into a DDT for two. Christian fights out of a Gory Bomb though and everything breaks down. A Lethal Injection is countered into a Gory Bomb/Codebreaker combination to drop Christian again. Johnson is back in for the save and a pair of basement superkicks knock Reynolds silly. The Death Valley Driver/top rope double stomp combination finishes Reynolds at 7:05.

Rating: C+. The Swirl are the top heels around here, though I’m not sure where that is leading. In theory it sets up Christian getting a World Title shot, though he’s been ready for that for a rather long time now. At least they’re looking like a dominant team at the moment and I could go for seeing that continue for a while to come.

Post match the beatdown is on again until Tommy Billington and Adam Priest make the save.

Overall Rating: C. There were parts here that I liked, but one of the biggest issues was the simple fact that it featured so many of the same people that we’ve seen time after time. How many Lance Archer squashes can we see? Or Shane Taylor Promotions for that matter? Meanwhile, the Women’s Pure Title, Tag Team Titles, Six Man Titles and Women’s Title have not been on the line in about six weeks. Fix this, as it’s making for quite the annoying show.

Results
Grizzled Young Veterans b. Spanish Announce Project – Springboard missile dropkick to Serpentico
Lance Archer b. Vin Parker – Black Out
Shane Taylor b. Kiran Grey – Right hand
Aaron Solo/QT Marshall/Von Erichs b. Frat House – Cutter to Vance
Shane Taylor Promotions b. MxM TV – Double stomp to Mansoor
Red Velvet b. Robyn Renegade – Left hand
Swirl b. Dark Order – Death Valley Driver/top rope double stomp combination to Reynolds

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

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

Ring Of Honor
Date: January 8, 2026
Location: eSports Stadium Arlington, Arlington, Texas
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

It’s time for a regular show this week after three in one week. That’s quite the lineup, but last week did feature a heck of a swerve in the featured tag match. Hopefully they can follow up on that, as it’s certainly an interesting story. As usual, there are pieces in ROH that can work, but they need the right presentation. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening recap looks at Jay Lethal’s turn last week.

Opening sequence.

Aaron Solo vs. Ace Austin

They go with the grappling to start with Austin taking him down into a headscissors. Solo reverses into a headlock but Austin breaks it up and kicks him in the back. That earns Austin a trip to the floor though and Solo hits a slingshot dive. Back in and we hit the front facelock, followed by a running dropkick for two.

They head out to the apron, where Solo is sent outside for a kick to the chest. The Fold is blocked so Solo is catapulted into the corner, where he bounces right back out with a double stomp for two. Solo’s charge in the corner misses though and Austin hits a nice springboard spinning kick to the face. The Fold finishes Solo at 7:35.

Rating: C+. I like Austin a good bit, but dang it shouldn’t be taking him seven and a half minutes to get rid of Solo. I’ll take that over a loss though, as at least he’s getting some ring time and starting to establish himself. Just maybe let him be a bit more dominant next time around?

Athena knows she is the best in the world but she keeps having to deal with problems. She has a massive target on her back and she kept failing to prove her greatness in 2025. Who is she if she can’t bring home any gold for her minions? How did she get in this position? The only person she can depend on is herself.

Cru vs. Will Allday/Jay Alexander

Lacey Lane is now with Cru and Andretti starts with Allday. Hold on though as Allday springboard kicks Rush off the apron and hands it off to Alexander. Everything breaks down and Cru hits stereo dives to the floor. Back in and Cru goes with the misdirection to take Alexander down. Allday’s missile dropkick hits Alexander by mistake and a double Falcon Arrow finishes Allday at 2:19. This has been your reminder that Cru is in fact still around.

Christopher Daniels talks about how Leila Grey is out of action for a long time with an injury. Now though, Zayda Steel is taking her place. I’m not sure how well that is going to fit but it’s something.

Darius Martin/Zayda Steel vs. Lee Moriarty/Trish Adora

Mixed tag and the rest of their teams are here. Moriarty works on a cravate to start before taking Martin down by the arm. With that going to a standoff, Adora comes in to take over on Steel, including a mocking arm crank. Steel is back with a sunset flip but the referee is distracted, meaning no count. They trade kicks to the face and it’s back to the men. Everything breaks down and Steel jumps onto Adora to hammer away, followed by a Canadian Destroyer to Moriarty. Shane Taylor offers a distraction though and Steel gets dropped with the Lariat Tubman for the pin at 6:15.

Rating: C+. So Steel joins the team and loses ten minutes later. Great to see that kind of a start, as they made sure she gets no momentum for the debuting team. But at least Adora, who is pretty much exactly where she was years ago, gets a pin. I’m sure that will put her in titl….oh you get the idea already.

We look back at Madison Rayne’s retirement match last week.

Billie Starkz/Diamante vs. Reiza Clarke/Shay Karmichael

Athena is here with Starkz and Diamante. Karmichael and Starkz lock up to start with the former yelling a lot. Starkz takes Karmichael into the corner and it’s a double toss to send her crashing down for two. Clarke comes in and gets caught with a quick Stunner, leaving Diamante to hit a rolling cutter to pin Karmichael at 3:48.

Rating: C. Pretty much a total squash here with Starkz and Diamante getting to dominate the jobbers to please Athena. That’s all this needed to be and now we get to see what is next for them. In theory it’s a run towards the Women’s Tag Team Titles and I’m not quite sure I see that actually happening.

Cru says they’re back with new member Lacey Lane.

Rachael Ellering/Demo Diamond/Delynn Cavens vs. Premiere Athletes

Daivari and Cavens start things off with Cavens being taken into the corner for the double beatdown. Nese’s bridging northern lights suplex gets two, with the rather tall Diamond making the save. Denali comes in to stare at him and it’s off to Ellering, with Denali not being impressed. Some running shoulders don’t do much to Denali, who drops her with a big boot. Everything breaks down and a chop block puts Diamond down, leaving Nese to pumphandle driver Cavens for the pin at 4:30.

Rating: C. And now I’m sure the Premiere Athletes will be launched into the stratosphere, just like I’m sure they will be after every single win they have. They’ve been around since the beginning of Ring Of Honor and do just about the same things they did at the start. Yet they’re still trotted out there, thankfully with Denali there to at least change the act just a tiny bit. Either drop them, change them up in a big way or do something with them already.

Frat House vs. Dalton Castle/Outrunners

Magnum and Garrison start things off with Magnum grabbing a hiptoss. It’s off to Floyd for a running knee and a double hiptoss. Garrison drives him into the corner and a grab of the leg from the floor lets Karter hit a clothesline. Floyd gets sent into the corner for the beating, including a collection of choking. Vance and Floyd collide, followed by the tag off to Castle for the house cleaning. A triple slam drops the villains and the Mega Powers Elbow into the Bang A Rang finishes Karter at 6:01.

Rating: C+. At least Castle and the Outrunners are fun and seem to be having a good time out there. It makes for some more entertaining matches, though the Frat House lost its charm a long time ago. It’s also not a great sign that a match this short was one of the best on the show, though maybe it moves them closer to a title shot.

Johnny TV and Taya Valkyrie aren’t happy with Red Velvet, as Valkyrie wants a title shot. Velvet just happens to be there to offer Valkyrie a Proving Ground match.

MxM Collection vs. Von Erichs

Oh joy the Von Erichs are back. I had forgotten how pathetic these losers were. Mansoor gets shouldered down to start and a double dropkick does it again. The Collection takes over on the floor, with Ross’ hand being crushed underneath the steps. Ross’ cowboy hat is stolen as the Collection keeps working on the hand, which is put in the turnbuckle for a kick from Mansoor.

A big boot gets Ross out of trouble and the tag brings in Marshall to clean house. Marshall’s running clothesline in the corner sets up a pop up powerslam but Madden is back in for the save. A leg lariat Hart Attack connects but the Centerfold is broken up. Ross’ hand is fine enough to claw slam Mansoor for the pin at 6:32.

Rating: C. This has been the latest example of the Von Erichs living off their family name because they aren’t good enough or interesting enough to do anything on their own. The idea of having the Von Erichs continue their legacy in Texas is fine, but the team couldn’t be less interesting if they tried. The “aw shucks, we’re just two good old boys from TEXAS” stuff is terrible and we’re probably going to be stuck with them while this whole residency goes on.

We look at LFI winning the Tag Team Titles at Final Battle. Probably not a good sign that we need a reminder about a month later.

Kiran Grey vs. Sammy Guevara

Guevara flips him off to start, marking the first and only time anyone has ever done that in wrestling. Grey sweeps the leg to start and they fight outside with Grey sending him hard into the barricade. Back in and a clothesline turns Guevara inside out but he knocks Grey out of the air. The GTH ends Grey at 2:38. This was the “get Guevara some momentum back, even though he really didn’t have any in the first place, after he lost to Bandido on Dynamite because there was no one but Guevara to take that loss” special.

Swirl vs. Tommy Billington/Adam Priest

Jay Lethal is here with the Swirl. Johnson and Billington start things off with Johnson cutting off a charge in the corner. Priest comes in to chop Christian hard in the corner, causing Christian to fake a knee injury. That lets Johnson get in a cheap shot from behind to take over, with Lethal adding a strut. The chinlock doesn’t last long as Priest gets up to hit a clothesline, allowing the tag off to Billington.

Everything breaks down and Johnson gets spiked for two. The half crab has Christian in trouble and Johnson gets crossfaced at the same time. Johnson powers up and Death Valley Drivers Billington onto the other two for the save. Christian hits a 450 for two on Billington, earning Billington a toss to the floor. A suicide headbutt drops Priest on the floor, leaving Billington to Tombstone Johnson. Christian is back in to drop Billington though and the Vanilla Choke Zero gets the tap at 10:12.

Rating: B-. Above all else, it was nice to have a story that actually felt important. This is by far the biggest story in Ring Of Honor and it was a fine way to go to move things forward. Christian winning the World Title doesn’t sound like the worst idea, though it might take some time before we finally get there.

Post match the big beatdown is on to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. I cannot get my head around how they manage to make this show so uninteresting week to week. There are some watchable enough matches, such as the main event, but so much of the problem is Ring Of Honor/AEW has gone out of its way to show just how unimportant a lot of these people really are. That was on full display here, as it feels like you could have seen some of these matches at any point in the last year plus. That makes for a very tedious show and it took me more than a few sittings to watch this one. Please either shorten the thing or put in more effort on the stories, because this was drek.

Results
Ace Austin b. Aaron Solo – The Fold
Cru b. Will Allday/Jay Alexander – Double Falcon Arrow to Allday
Trish Adora/Lee Moriarty b. Darius Martin/Zayda Steel – Lariat Tubman to Steel
Diamante/Billie Starkz b. Shay Karmichael/Reiza Clarke – Rolling cutter to Karmichael
Premiere Athletes b. Rachael Ellering/Demo Diamond/Delynn Cavens – Pumphandle driver to Cavens
Dalton Castle/Outrunners b. Frat House – Bang A Rang to Karter
Von Erichs b. MxM Collection – Claw slam to Mansoor
Sammy Guevara b. Kiran Grey – GTH
Swirl b. Tommy Billington/Adam Priest – Vanilla Choke Zero to Billington

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

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

Ring Of Honor
Date: December 30, 2025
Location: Hammerstein Ballroom, New York City, New York
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

For reasons I don’t quite understand, we have a special edition of the show here from New York City. That’s in addition to this week’s regular show and it should be interesting to see what kind of thing we get here, with what should be in front of a bigger audience. Well in theory at least as that has not always been the case with these things. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Alec Price/Jordan Oliver vs. Death Riders

Yes it’s Yuta and Garcia, because they’re around a lot. The Riders jump them to start fast but Price snaps off a running hurricanrana. The villains are sent outside and Price hits a running dive to take both of them out. Oliver gets shoved off the top for a big crash to the floor though and he’s in trouble back inside.

A suplex gets Oliver out of trouble but it’s not enough for the tag to Price. Instead Oliver is sent into the corner and the Boston crab has him in more trouble. That’s broken up though and Yuta gets kicked away, allowing the diving tag off to Price. The pace picks up, including a moonsault over the Riders, who are right back with a double faceplant. Price gets double teamed and a running knee gives Yuta the pin at 5:50.

Rating: C+. Price and Oliver have done well in their recent appearances, which shouldn’t be a surprise as they have more than a bit of experience together. It wouldn’t surprise me to see them around a bit more often and it would be nice to have some more teams around here. Other than that, the Death Riders were the same thing they’ve been every time they’re together.

Mark Davis is 2-0 in ROH this year, with one of those wins being in February. This is vital information that you absolutely needed to know.

Mark Davis vs. Matt Mako

Mako, a former MMA fighter, kicks at Davis’ knee to start but charges into a slam. Davis hammers him down and we hit the chinlock. A suplex toss sends Mako flying but he’s back with a kick to the head. Davis sends him into the corner, only to get caught in a cross armbreaker. That’s broken up as well and it’s a big running clothesline to finish Mako at 3:22.

Rating: C. I’m not sure why we needed to have a video explaining that Davis had won a pair of matches here this year when one of them was only two weeks ago but oh well. At the same time, Davis isn’t someone who has done much either in AEW or ROH so this is at least something for him. I’ve liked the stuff I’ve seen from Mako so hopefully he’s around a bit more often.

We look at Athena not being happy with Billie Starkz.

Big Bill/Bryan Keith vs. Dark Order

Keith headlocks Silver to start but gets shouldered down, allowing the Order to hit a double basement dropkick. Reynolds is knocked outside and Bill hits a running clothesline to take him down again. Keith comes back in to knock Reynolds down and grabs a front facelock. That’s broken up though and it’s back to Silver for the rapid fire kicks to Keith. Silver tries the Spin Doctor on Bill but can’t keep him up, meaning it’s a big boot to knock Silver silly for the pin at 6:08.

Rating: C. Bill and Keith work well together, though I still have no idea why they’re stuck on this show. They wear at least established in AEW and it’s not like the tag division is overflowing with talent. Hopefully they get a chance to do something else, even if it’s around here, though there is a chance that it’s just to have Bill wrestling in New York.

Blake Christian wants a World Title shot against Bandido but instead it’s going to be Jay Lethal/Bandido vs. the Swirl on Thursday.

Satnam Singh vs. Charles Mason

Mason bites Singh’s hand to start and gets gorilla pressed for his efforts. A running crossbody and chokeslam finish for Singh at 1:42.

Back at Worlds End, Ace Austin said he wants a World Title shot at Bandido. Rocky Romero came in and a match was set up between the two of them.

Ace Austin vs. Rocky Romero

They go with the grappling to start until Austin armdrags him into a dropkick. Back up and Romero sends him outside, where Austin is back with a dropkick. They get back inside with Romero grabbing a quickly released ankle lock but the Forever Lariats are broken up. Austin is back with some clotheslines in the corner into a super anklescissors for two.

Romero kicks him in the head and they trade rollups for two each. A rather spinning leg trap roll up gets two on Romero, who is right back up with Sliced Bread for two. Austin gives him a suplex but the Fold misses. Instead Austin kicks him in the face and now the Fold finishes Romero off at 7:51.

Rating: C+. I still like Austin quite a bit and it’s nice to see him getting a bit of a showcase like this. He got in there and they even had something set up with the quick story before the match. At the same time, Romero losing isn’t going to hurt him because he’ll pop back up next time like nothing has changed, which is ok in a case like his.

Red Velvet vs. Janai Kai

Non-title Proving Ground match meaning if Kai can win or survive the ten minute time limit, she gets a future title shot. Kai takes her down by the arm to start and some hard kicks connect. Velvet is back up to send her into the corner and stomps away, only to dive into a superkick. A hard kick to the back gives Kai two and her armbar sends Velvet over to the ropes.

Kai’s slam is countered into a small package for two and something like a hammerlock dragon sleeper has the arm in more trouble. That’s broken up and Velvet hits a DDT but Kai cuts her off again. Some running kicks to the head stagger Velvet and a question mark kick drops Velvet. Back up and Velvet hits a heck of a slap for the pin at 6:24.

Rating: C+. This was much more about Kai taking it to Velvet, which is hardly out of the norm for her. Velvet got in a bit of offense here but it was mainly about her surviving against Kai with the kicking stuff. It’s good to see Velvet getting in the ring more often though, as she’s still doing the best stuff of her career so far.

Respect is shown to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. It was a fine show, though I have no idea why this was some kind of a special bonus edition. There was nothing on here that really stood out and hopefully they have something a bit better/bigger for the week’s regular show. It wasn’t awful, but unless you’re a die hard Ring Of Honor fan, there wasn’t anything here worth going out of your way to see.

Results
Death Riders b. Alec Price/Jordan Oliver – Running knee to Price
Mark Davis b. Matt Mako – Running clothesline
Big Bill/Bryan Keith b. Dark Order – Big boot to Silver
Satnam Singh b. Charles Mason – Chokeslam
Ace Austin b. Rocky Romero – The Fold
Red Velvet b. Janai Kai – Slap

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

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