Ring Of Honor
Date: December 28, 2023
Location: Frost Bank Center, San Antonio, Texas
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

It’s the last show of the year and odds are that isn’t going to mean much. The one change here might be the length, as the lack of a Collision taping this weekend means no Ring Of Honor taping. The Women’s TV Title tournament is on its way and maybe we can get some details on it this week. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of the Ring Of Honor related stuff on Dynamite.

Opening sequence.

Nyla Rose vs. Alejandra Lion

Rose powers her down to start but Rose slips out of a suplex and slugs away. That earns her a backbreaker into a backsplash as the beating is on. Rose hits a basement superkick and the Beast Bomb finishes at 2:01.

Peter Avalon vs. Zak Knight

Knight is Saraya’s brother and spears Avalon down to start. Avalon needs a breather on the apron to start so Knight sticks out his chest for some chopping. Knight picks up the pace and hits a hard clothesline but Avalon knees his way out of a suplex. They head outside where Avalon manages a posting, followed by a high crossbody for two back inside. Back up and Knight grabs a suplex, setting up a Razor’s Edge buckle bomb. A running forearm to the face finishes Avalon at 4:15.

Rating: C+. They didn’t have time to get very far here but Knight was aggressive and showed a lot of fire. I’m not sure if it’s good enough to get him a job, but he certainly put in the effort to get noticed here. They packed in a pretty decent amount for a four minute match and Avalon made Knight look good in the process.

Various women want the Women’s TV Title. They couldn’t make this feel more like the “We Can’t Beat Athena” Title if they tried.

Athena is happy with Billie Starkz and Lexi Nair, saying Starkz is going to be the first Women’s TV Champion. Starkz says she’s going to win the TV Title because she couldn’t win the Women’s Title.

Iron Savages/Jacked Jameson vs. Von Erichs/Bryan Keith

Keith headlocks Bronson to start but Bronson knocks him back down. An elbow misses so it’s off to Ross vs. Jameson. After a shot of Savage Sauce, Jameson lets him fire off some forearms so Marshall comes in with a dropkick. The threat of the Iron Claw means it’s Boulder coming in and getting double dropkicked.

We settle down to Ross being shoved into Boulder’s chest and the chinlock goes on. Bronson misses the moonsault though and the rolling tag brings Marshall in to clean house. Marshall manages a slam for two on Bronson but the Claw is broken up. Everything breaks down and stereo Claws give the Von Erichs the win at 8:21.

Rating: C. There is no way around it: the Von Erichs are pretty dull. They’re good enough for a basic match, but aside from them being part of a famous wrestling family and from Texas, there is only so much about them. Keith didn’t get to showcase himself all that much here and the Savages and Jameson were the same as always.

Griff Garrison and Cole Karter aren’t happy that Maria isn’t here but here is the Spanish Announce Project to set up a match for next week.

Lady Frost/Trish Adora/Kiera Hogan vs. Renegades/Taya Valkyrie

Hogan takes Taya into the ropes to start and hits a running hip attack so it’s off to Charlette. A superkick sends her into the corner and Hogan hits a running knee. Robyn gets in a cheap shot from the apron though and a pump kick/flapjack combination gets two. The chinlock keeps Hogan down and Taya comes in to take her back into the corner.

Hogan fights up without much trouble and hands it off to Frost to clean house. Taya strikes her straight into the corner though and it’s Adora coming in. Robyn isn’t having that though and plants Adora as everything breaks down. Taya plants Adora though and the curb stomp is good for the pin at 5:57.

Rating: C-. Another not so good match here, with no one getting to stand out, save for maybe Hogan. Instead it was a bunch of women not having much time to do much and the biggest name involved getting the pin. There is only so much six women can do with less than a minute apiece and that was apparent here.

Leyla Hirsch and Rachael Ellering don’t care about Maria and want the TV Title. Mercedes Martinez and Diamante come in and a tag match seems set.

Tony Nese vs. Joey Hyder

Mark Sterling is here with Nese and talks about how Nese gave everything at Final Battle and the fans liked seeing him get hurt. Now it’s time for Nese’s rebirth. Nese pounds him down into the corner to start and he shrugs off Hyder’s comeback. Some elbows to the head and a pumphandle driver finish for Nese at 1:57.

Vertvixen vs. Billie Starkz

Starkz grabs a front facelock to start and quickly takes her down. Vertvixen’s suplex is countered into a suplex and a running Blue Thunder Bomb plants Vertvixen again. A kick to the face lets Starkz go up top but Vertvixen catches her on top. That’s broken up as well and the Swanton finishes for Starkz at 3:44.

Rating: C. Another short match with Starkz getting in a win to move her towards the tournament. Starkz needed a win after her loss at Final Battle, though her being here continues to make the tournament feel like it’s as secondary of a title as you can get. Starkz will be a favorite to win the thing, but it’s only going to matter so much until someone beats Athena.

Kyle Fletcher (hey he’s actually here) says he is making the TV Title the most important title in Ring Of Honor. Next week: open challenge. Willie Mack comes in and says the open challenge is already closed.

Ethan Page vs. Johnny TV

TV takes him down to start and hammers away but Page is back up with a right hand. Page’s right hands in the corner keep TV in trouble and Page sends him outside. A kick to the head from the floor slows Page down though and we hit a dragon sleeper. TV cranks on the neck but Page suplexes his way to freedom. Back up and TV hits the Flying Chuck for two and a low blow drops Page again. Starship Pain is loaded up but cue Dalton Castle for the distraction, allowing Page to hit the springboard cutter for the pin at 6:13.

Rating: C+. The best thing here was that it felt like a main event. Maybe not the biggest match ever, but it had two bigger names and played into an established feud. That’s better than nothing and more than you usually get around here. If nothing else, Castle vs. TV feels like a big match whenever we get there, which is quite nice for a change.

Overall Rating: C. Here’s the big thing about this show: it was just over an hour long and they didn’t waste time with anything. It’s amazing how much easier this show is when you don’t get through six matches and have another hour to go. The lack of champions on the show didn’t help, but at least they kept things moving and it made the show so, so much easier to watch. Not a great show here, but FAR easier to watch than usual.

Results
Nyla Rose b. Alejandra Lion – Beast Bomb
Zak Knight b. Peter Avalon – Running forearm
Von Erichs/Bryan Keith b. Iron Savages/Jacked Jameson – Stereo Iron Claws
Renegades/Taya Valkyrie b. Lady Frost/Trish Adora/Kiera Hogan – Curb stomp to Adora
Tony Nese b. Joey Hyder – Pumphandle driver
Billie Starkz b. Vertvixen – Swanton
Ethan Page b. Johnny TV – Spring cutter

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Ring Of Honor
Date: December 7, 2023
Location: Erie Insurance Arena, Erie, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We’re eight days away from Final Battle and the card is finally kind of starting to come together. This week should see more of the Survival Of The Fittest participants announced, plus likely some stuff that has little to do with Ring Of Honor. I’m almost scared of the wonders this show is going to have so let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

We run down the card.

Billie Starkz vs. Dani Mo

Mo takes her into the corner to start and gets run over for her efforts. A snap German suplex sets up the Swanton to end Mo at 1:10.

Post match Athena runs in to beat Starkz down but Starkz fights back on the floor. Athena manages to suplex her into the post until it’s broken up…..and then they keep fighting anyway. Then it’s broken up again and they break free to keep fighting again. They go at it a third time until Athena manages a powerbomb on the floor, followed by a Starkz’s End to plant Starkz on the title to finally wrap it up. They’ve set this up well, but Athena has to finally drop the title already.

Wheeler Yuta and Bryan Danielson want to team up with a mystery partner to face FTR and Mark Briscoe as a tribute to Jay Briscoe. So not only are they bringing in another AEW star who has little to nothing to do with anything going on in Ring Of Honor, but another title won’t be defended on the show. Barring a shocking MJF Tag Team Title defense, we’re likely looking at the Women’s Title and TV Title being the only belts on the line. That’s quite a choice for a promotion with quarterly pay per views.

Johnny TV vs. Dalton Castle

The Boys are here with Castle, who is knocked outside with a shot to the face. Back in and a spinning clothesline puts Castle down, setting up a standing shooting star press for two. That means Castle needs a fan up before coming back in with a clothesline and DDT. TV knocks him right back to the floor though and drops down onto him for two. They go outside again but this time the Boys toss Castle back inside, where Castle sends him to the floor for a change.

The suplexes put TV down a few times before, believe it or not, they go outside again, this time with TV missing a charge. Castle kicks him in the face and hugs the Boys before loading up the Bang A Rang. Cue Taya Valkyrie or a distraction/a spear to take out the Boys, allowing TV to slip out. A running knee to the face sets up a missed Starship Pain but Castle goes outside to yell at Taya. Back in and TV kicks him in the face but cue Kiera Hogan to take out Taya. That’s enough for Castle to grab the Bang A Rang for the pin at 9:12.

Rating: C+. It was a fresh matchup and I can go for having Taya and TV around here, but it also wasn’t exactly great. The constant going to the floor didn’t help and there was quite a bit going on here. In theory this sets up a mixed tag, but maybe they could have waited on Castle to be done with Survival of the Fittest before starting something new for him?

Rachael Ellering vs. Nikki Victory

Leyla Hirsch and Maria Kanellis-Bennett are here with Ellering. After a handshake, Ellering takes over on the arm to start and muscles her over with a gutwrench suplex (Maria approves). Some chops put Victory down again but Maria accidentally (in theory at least) grabs Ellering’s leg. Not that it matters as the Boss Woman Slam finishes Victory at 3:11.

Rating: C. As has been the case with the Maria stuff for months: anytime they would like for this stuff to go somewhere, it would be appreciated. Between Ellering and the Griff Garrison/Cole Karter stuff, I’ve pretty much lost interest in people doing her thing/doing their own thing while she glares. It stopped being interesting a long time ago and it feels like we’ve been in this same spot for months.

Athena is happy with beating up Billie Starkz because Starkz turned on the Minions. Tony Khan has announced that they are going to main event Final Battle and Lexi Nair gets to be guest ring announcer! Now off to TGI-Fridays to celebrate!

Infantry vs. Workhorsemen

Henry and Dean fight over a wristlock to start before Bravo comes in to stay on the arm. It’s off to Drake for a DDT and the big chop puts Bravo down again. A belly to belly gives Drake two and a slingshot hilo gets the same. Bravo finally slips between the legs and brings Dean back in to clean house. Everything breaks down and a double DDT puts Henry down. Boot Camp is broken up but Drake misses a Cannonball in the corner. Bravo kicks Dean by mistake though, setting up the assisted Downward Spiral to finish Dean at 7:09.

Rating: C. It was a perfectly fine match but I cannot come up with a single reason to care about what they were doing here. There was no interest here, which might be due to these teams being on the show so frequently. There’s nothing special to seeing them in the ring and it’s really hard to imagine them going very far, especially with the Tag Team Titles not being a factor around here. Not a terrible match or anything, but I could go for something interesting instead of just four guys doing stuff.

Renegades vs. Trish Adora/Lady Frost

Frost and Robyn jump over each other to start until Frost grabs a running flip neckbreaker for two. Charlette grabs the leg from the floor though and Robyn hits a basement dropkick for two of her own. An assisted slap gives Charlette two more and we hit the chinlock. That lasts as long as the average chinlock and Frost gets over to Adora for the hot tag. Everything breaks down and the Lariat Tubman into Frostbite finishes Robyn at 5:07.

Rating: C. Another perfectly fine match which isn’t likely to mean much going forward. The Renegades lose far more often than not and it’s not like Adora and Frost have anything to fight for as a team. In other words, this was another of those matches that Ring Of Honor includes each week to extend the show without adding much value.

Rachael Ellering argues with Maria Kanellis-Bennett for almost costing her that match. Maria says it was a mistake and leaves. Leyla Hirsch and Ellering seem to make peace though.

Survival Of The Fittest Qualifying Match: Josh Woods vs. Lee Johnson

They go with the grappling to start and Johnson bails over to the ropes in a smart move. A headscissors has Woods down for a bit and a dropkick into an armbar makes it worse. Back up and Woods hiptosses him to the floor, setting up a ram into the barricade. They get back inside where Johnson gets an elbow up in the corner, followed by a jumping neckbreaker for two. Woods reverses a superplex into a twisting superplex (that was cool) for two of his own. A running knee to the face and gutwrench powerbomb give Woods two more but Johnson scores with a kick to the face. The frog splash finishes for Johnson at 7:35.

Rating: C+. This was one of the better matches of the show so far and for once it actually played a role for Final Battle. Johnson is probably the biggest underdog to win the title as anyone but at least he’s getting a chance. At the same time, Woods will likely bounce back and go after the Pure Rules Title in a story that has started and stopped all kinds of times over the last few months.

Righteous vs. Outrunners

Vincent hammers on Magnum to start but Magnum is right back with some chops. The Outrunners even manage to get in a double pose, which has to put them ahead on points. Dutch comes in off a blind tag and runs Magnum over with a crossbody. Vincent gets in a few shots of his own but Magnum fights up and brings Floyd in to clean house. A spinning suplex drops Vincent but Dutch is back with the spinning Boss Man Slam. Autumn Sunshine finishes Floyd at 4:19.

Rating: C. While these tag matches are coming off as filler, they are at least building up some teams. At the end of the day though, those matches need to actually lead somewhere and as long as MJF has the Tag Team Titles, I’m not sure I can imagine that happening. For now though, at least the Righteous won something, even if Jake Roberts wasn’t here (again).

Survival Of The Fittest Qualifying Match: Lee Moriarty vs. Tracy Williams

Moriarty grabs a headlock to start but Williams technicals his way to freedom and a standoff. A big boot puts Williams down and it’s time to work on the arm. Williams breaks it up so Moriarty easily kicks him down again and fires off more kicks to the arm. They go to the corner where Williams manages a DDT onto the top turnbuckle. The crossface has Moriarty in trouble but he goes to the bad arm to escape. A suplex spun into a Downward Spiral finishes Williams at 6:27.

Rating: C+. Given that I don’t think Williams has won a match or two at most since returning to Ring Of Honor, there was only so much doubt about the result here. Moriarty is someone who could have a nice run if given the chance, but I can’t imagine he wins the title. Other than that, it’s another pretty nice Williams match where he still can’t win.

Respect is shown post match.

Dalton Castle is happy to go to Final Battle (which he was doing before this week) because no one is more ready for TV. Cue Johnny TV and they get in an exchange of TV show titles. Castle seems to win with Hey Dude but Taya Valkyrie comes in to say TV is a better action star.

Butcher and the Blade vs. The Boys

Brandon and Butcher start things off with Butcher ignoring some dropkicks. Brent comes in for a double dropkick to put Butcher down but it’s off to Blade for the chops in the corner. A standing Sliced Bread gets Brent out of trouble as everything breaks down. Butcher and Blade collide but are fine enough to beat up Brent on the floor. Back in and Brandon gets knocked down, setting up the chinlock. Brandon enziguris his way out of trouble though and it’s Brent coming back in to pick up the pace. Everything breaks down and the powerbomb/neckbreaker combination finishes Brent at 5:58.

Rating: C. This was another on a too long list of tag matches this week and it’s not a great sign that Butcher and the Blade took almost six minutes to beat the Boys. That being said, I can go for Butcher and the Blade being around as they have the talents to do something. Other than that though, nice enough match, but the show is already running long and this didn’t help things.

Cole Karter and Griff Garrison complain about not doing anything in four months so Maria Kanellis-Bennett suggests new music. With her singing.

Christopher Daniels vs. Angelico

Serpentico is here with Angelico, who works on the arm to start. Daniels switches that into a headlock and cranks away for a good while. With that broken up, Angelico chokes on the ropes before grabbing a leglock to keep Daniels down. Daniels fights up and drops Angelico with some elbows, followed by the right hands in the corner. The STO gives Daniels two but Serpentico breaks up the Iconoclasm out of the corner. Angelico’s leglock makes Daniels tap at 7:29.

Rating: C+. This was the technical match with Angelico tying Daniels up and Daniels trying to keep up with him. That has been the case for a lot of Daniels matches as of late and now we get to see what is left for him. At the same time, Angelico gets a bit of a boost after losing his big title match, which he might have needed with Serpentico dragging him down as part of a team.

Post match the beatdown is on but Orange Cassidy and Danhausen make the save.

Here is Tony Khan to emcee the contract signing between Ethan Page and Tony Nese. The two of them, plus Mark Sterling, come to the ring. Khan announces that the match will be an I Quit match because Sterling says Page has quit everything he has ever started. Like his partners, his vlogs and like he’ll do with his fitness journey. Page says he’ll win but Nese says Page is just like all of these losers here: beyond helping. Nese tells him to always take your protein and some powder to the eyes blinds Page. The beating is on and Nese puts Page through the table.

Survival Of The Fittest Qualifying Match: Kyle Fletcher vs. Gravity

Gravity wastes no time in taking him outside and there’s the big running flip dive. Back in and Fletcher grabs a swinging Side Effect to take over, followed by the stomping in the corner. A hurricanrana and standing moonsault give Gravity two each as commentary talks about the history of Survival Of The Fittest. Fletcher is right back with a Michinoku Driver for two, followed by the spinning Tombstone for the pin at 5:29.

Rating: C+. They didn’t have time to do much here and the match felt like it was kind of tacked on at the end. Fletcher being added to the title match is fine enough as there will certainly be an interesting field in there and he could be a dark horse to win the thing. Gravity going in might make a bit more sense, though Komander will already be in there for the flips.

Overall Rating: C+. And that’s one of the last editions of Ring Of Honor before Final Battle, with a bunch of stuff that feels like it has nothing to do with the pay per view and a bunch of midcarders being added to the TV Title match. As usual, there is a good show buried under all of the extra stuff that makes the show feel so long. They did a really good job with building towards the Women’s Title match and Page vs. Nese was good enough, but the TV Title match doesn’t feel important and the rest of the card is either just there or doesn’t exist yet. Final Battle needs a lot of work and I don’t think we’ll be getting it in time.

Results
Billie Starkz b. Dani Mo – Swanton
Dalton Castle b. Johnny TV – Bang A Rang
Rachael Ellering b. Nikki Victory – Boss Woman Slam
Workhorsemen b. The Infantry – Assisted Downward Spiral to Dean
Lady Frost/Trish Adora b. Renegades – Frostbite to Robyn
Lee Johnson b. Josh Woods – Frog splash
Righteous b. Outrunners – Autumn Sunshine to Floyd
Lee Moriarty b. Tracy Williams – Suplex Downward Spiral
Butcher and the Blade b. The Boys – Powerbomb/neckbreaker combination to Brent
Angelico b. Christopher Daniels – Leglock

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

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Ring Of Honor
Date: November 16, 2023
Location: Moda Center, Portland, Oregon
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We have five shows left before Final battle and it would be nice to see something added to the card. There is a good chance that we’ll start doing that tonight as we need to crown a new TV Champion. Other than that, Dalton Castle wants a shot at Eddie Kingston’s World Title. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

The announcers preview the show.

Peter Avalon vs. Trent Beretta

Kris Statlander and Orange Cassidy are here with Trent. Avalon shoulders him down to start but Trent is back up with a heck of a chop. Trent knocks him to the apron but gets sent hard into the post for his efforts. A missed charge into the barricade makes it even worse for Trent and Avalon grabs the armbar back inside.

Avalon spends too much time going up though and gets suplexed back down for a nasty crash. Trent rolls some German suplexes and hits a running knee for two. Back up and Avalon wins a battle over a Tombstone for two. A sunset flip is loaded up but Trent reverses into the Scrunchie for the pin at 8:05.

Rating: B-. It was a good match and that’s not the biggest surprise given the people involved. Trent is consistently solid in the ring and Avalon can hang in there with a lot of people if given the chance. I could go for more of Trent, but that isn’t likely to happen while he’s still under Cassidy’s shadow.

Dalton Castle is confident going into his World Title shot because he knows he’s better than Eddie Kingston. Castle is lighter on his feet and the only way Kingston can beat him is by knocking him out. For now though, cheese time.

Outrunners vs. Jacoby Watts/Sebastian Wolf

Before the match, Watts actually gets to talk, sounding like a preacher who praises…himself. The Outrunners jump him from behind though and we’re off to a fast start. A double elbow drops Wolf as commentary compares the Outrunners to a variety of classic 80s teams. Floyd misses an elbow and the tag brings Watts in to clean house. Everything breaks down and a powerslam/sliding neckbreaker combination finishes Watts at 2:25. Yes, the Outrunners won a match and yes that is awesome.

Christopher Daniels and Matt Sydal are ready for Komander/El Hijo del Vikingo because this is what they live for.

Emi Sakura vs. Kel

Sakura easily takes her down into a surfboard to start but Kel manages a kick to the head. The rapid fire chops in the corner rock Kel and the rather delayed butterfly backbreaker finishes for Sakura at 2:15.

The Outrunners are VERY happy with their win and they’re here to show us what tag wrestling is all about.

Bollywood Boyz vs. The Boys

Brent slips out of Samir’s sunset flip to start and grabs a rollup for two. Sunil comes in to take over on Brandon’s arm and we hit the Bollywood dance. That takes too long so it’s off to Brent to clean house with some dropkicks. Everything breaks down and the Bollywood Blast gets two with Brent making the save. A double belly to back faceplant finishes Sunil at 4:47.

Rating: C+. It was fast paced while it lasted but again it didn’t last that long. These teams are capable of going out there and popping the crowd with some fast paced offense and that is a good thing to have on a show. The Boys continue to be a nice team but they’re so often used in six man tags and squashes that they don’t get to showcase themselves often enough, At the same time, the Boyz have long since shown that they can hang at a high level and I could go with seeing them around more often.

Tony Khan announces that since Samoa Joe vacated the TV Title (on AEW TV, because AEW actually has TV), we’ll have a Survival Of The Fittest match (six way elimination with qualifying matches in the coming weeks) for the title. I will absolutely take that over another ladder match.

The Renegades say they’re a real team, unlike Leyla Hirsch and Rachael Ellering. They may have lost singles matches, but tag matches are their thing. Maria Kanellis-Bennett comes in to ask for a minute of their time. Lexi Nair: “I’m very confused. I’m not sure what that was about.”

Billie Starkz/Athena vs. Brooke Havok/Johnnie Robbie

Robbie kicks Athena in the face to start but gets powerbombed out of the corner for her efforts. Starkz comes in (with Athena telling her to not screw this up) and gets DDTed by Havok. That doesn’t work for Starkz, who hammers away with forearms. Athena’s Despicable Knee finishes Havok at 2:14.

Post match Starkz and Athena wreck them again as Starkz is now more evil.

Ethan Page is interrupted by Mark Sterling and Tony Nese. Sterling rants about how Page cost Nese a match against Serpentico last week but Nese cuts him off. Nese yells at Page and a rematch is set for next week.

Renegades vs. Leyla Hirsch/Rachael Ellering

Charlette and Hirsch lock up to start with neither being able to get very far. Hirsch pulls her down and into the other corner so Ellering can grab a front facelock. With that broken up a middle rope crossbody hits Ellering and it’s Robyn coming in to hammer away. A double suplex hits Ellering, setting up a Muta Lock/slap to the face for two. Ellering fights up and hands it off to Hirsch for the suplexes. Everything breaks down and Ellering rams the Renegades into each other. That’s enough for a sunset flip to pin Charlette at 7:21.

Rating: C. So again, Maria seems interested in someone and they lose. That’s about all you can expect from the story at this point as it seems to keep going with almost nothing working for her. The match itself was decent enough as Hirsch and Ellering made for an ok team, though it’s not like there are many teams for them to face around here.

Post match Leyla’s knee seems to be hurt so here is Maria Kanellis-Bennett to check on her.

Athena is pleased with Billie Starkz’ progress but doesn’t see anyone on the horizon for Final Battle. At the same time, Starkz needs to step up as a Minion In Training or she’ll get stomped out.

Marina Shafir vs. Amira

Shafir takes her down without much trouble to start but Amira knees and strikes away at the head. A crossbody gives Amira two but Shafir kicks her in the face and chokes her out at 2:10.

Final Battle ad.

Christopher Daniels/Matt Sydal vs. El Hijo del Vikingo/Komander

Sydal gets two off a fast sunset flip to Vikingo, who is right back up to avoid a kick to the face. Komander flips in to impress Daniels but a running shoulder puts Komander down. A dropkick to Daniels does the same thing and some double dropkicks do it twice as well. Daniels gets caught in a double 619 and Komander’s standing moonsault gets two.

Daniels hot shots his way out of trouble and it’s back to Sydal for the chops in the corner. It’s back to Daniels for the chinlock and a suplex, setting up Sydal’s slingshot knee for two. The STO gives Daniels two more and frustration is setting in. Komander rolls away though and it’s Vikingo coming in to clean house.

A springboard crucifix driver gives Komander two (Ian: “You can’t do that with action figures. He did it as a person.”) as everything breaks down. Daniels hits a powerbomb/Meteora combination for two on Vikingo but Komander is back up to knock Daniels down. Komander dives onto Sydal and Vikingo hits a frog splash for the pin on Daniels at 11:28.

Rating: B-. Much like earlier, this is a match where you knew it was going to be good based on the wrestlers involved. Daniels and Sydal are the talented jobbers of the tag division and building up Vikingo and Komander is not a bad idea. Granted I can’t imagine them being a long form team, but this was a nice, long match to let them do all of their crazy dives, which they do so well.

Respect is shown post match.

Ring Of Honor World Title: Eddie Kingston vs. Dalton Castle

Castle, with the Boys, is challenging. Feeling out process to start with neither being able to get very far. Kingston takes him down by the arm so Castle bails to the floor for some fanning. Back in and Castle wrestles him to the mat for some forearms and a clothesline. A knee to the back sets up a choke as Kingston can’t get off the mat. They finally get up and Kingston snapmares him into a double stomp to the chest.

Castle slugs away in the corner and hits a spinning bulldog, followed by a running knee to put Kingston on the floor. There’s another running knee off the apron to the floor but Kingston blasts him with a clothesline back inside. The rapid fire chops in the corner rock Castle, who is right back with a German suplex for two. The Bang-A-Rang is blocked and Kingston hits the spinning backfist for two more. A half and half suplex into another spinning backfist retains the title at 10:38.

Rating: B-. It was another good match, though Castle could have been built up far stronger as a challenger. Angelico got about a month of buildup for his title shot while Castle got a week? That aside, this at last felt like a big match, though I’m not sure who is going to be coming after the title at Final Battle.

Post match Kingston shakes Castle’s hand, saying this was for Brodie.

After some highlights, Kingston is in the back to say he’s really tired. Not just from defending the title, but seeing other World Champions barely ever showing up. You’re supposed to be the tide that raises everything up. He’s a true World Champion and remember that.

Is he kidding? Kingston has been World Champion for two months and has been here three times. That’s a bit better than Roman Reigns (I’m not sure who else he would be talking about) but stop acting like you’re Bruno Sammartino. You’ve been on the show two straight weeks now and have beaten Serpentico and Angelico before having a real challenger. That’s not exactly tearing up the world.

Overall Rating: C+. This was Ring Of Honor in a nutshell: they had good stuff but there was so much added to the card that absolutely could have been cut without losing anything that just made the show feel longer. Was anything going to be lost without squashes from Emi Sakura and Marina Shafir or the Boys vs. the Bollywood Boyz? Or maybe a few minutes less on the Daniels/Sydal tag match? This was a heck of a one hour show show stretched out to over an hour and a half, which might as well be called the Ring Of Honor special at this point.

Results
Trent Beretta b. Peter Avalon – Scrunchie
Outrunners b. Jacoby Watts/Sebastian Wolf – Powerslam/sliding neckbreaker combination to Watts
Emi Sakura b. Kel – Butterfly backbreaker
Boys b. Bollywood Boyz – Double belly to back faceplant to Sunil
Athena/Billie Starkz b. Brooke Havok/Johnnie Robbie – Despicable Knee to Havok
Leyla Hirsch/Rachael Ellering b. Renegades – Sunset flip to Charlette
Marina Shafir b. Amira – Choke
Komander/El Hijo del Vikingo b. Christopher Daniels/Matt Sydal – Frog splash to Daniels
Eddie Kingston b. Dalton Castle – Spinning backfish

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

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Ring Of Honor
Date: October 5, 2023
Location: Climate Pledge Arena, Seattle, Washington
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

The era of searching for the new champions continues and that could make for quite the different show. In the last six or so weeks, Ring Of Honor has crowned new World, Tag Team and Six Man Tag Team Champions, but none have appeared during their new reigns. It would be nice to have that change, but that might imply this show matters in the grand scheme of things. In other words: Save us again Athena. Let’s get to it.

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

We get a clip from after WrestleDream of Eddie Kingston talking about how much he loves the Japanese style. Now he wants to deal with future challengers and have Snickers pie. This aired on Youtube the night of WrestleDream.

Opening sequence.

Women’s Title: Leyla Hirsch vs. Athena

Athena is defending and has Billie Starkz in her corner. Hirsch sends her into the corner for a slingshot dropkick out to the floor. Athena dives over a charge and hits a dropkick before dropping Hirsch off the steps. Back in and Athena stomps away but Hirsch manages a quick choke. With that broken up, Athena kicks away but stops to dance, allowing Starkz to grab a rollup for two.

Athena isn’t having that and drops her with a single shot, setting up a surfboard. Hirsch manages a quick suplex into a hard clotheslines for two more. That’s broken up with a Regal Roll but the O Face is countered into a triangle choke. Athena breaks out and they slug it with Hirsch getting the better of things.

A cross armbreaker has Athena in more trouble but she slips out and unloads with right hands. Hirsch catches her up top though and cartwheels into a German suplex for the big crash and another near fall. Athena has had it with this though and grabs the Despicable Knee to retain at 12:23.

Rating: B. This was the big match feel that has been missing from Athena’s matches as Hirsch gave her a run for her money. While it still seems likely that Starkz will be the one to take the title from Athena, Starkz at least gave her a sweat here and that’s better than you will get in a lot of Athena’s title matches these days. Good stuff here and it felt like a main event level match.

Post match Athena loads up the post match attack but Starkz convinces her to calm down. Maria Kanellis Bennett comes out to shake her head at Hirsch.

Christopher Daniels and Rocky Romero are ready to fight, though they respect each other.

Josh Woods vs. Tyler Payne

Mark Sterling is here with Woods, who grabs a snapmare but stops before kicking Payne in the back. Payne flips over him out of the corner but now Woods hits the shots to the back. The Tilt-A-Woods finishes Payne fast, as commentary says that this non-Pure Rules match should get Woods closer to a Pure Rules Title shot. Sure.

Rocky Romero vs. Christopher Daniels

Daniels works on a headlock to start and then runs Romero over with a shoulder. Back up and Romero snaps off a hurricanrana to the floor, setting up the big dive to drop Daniels again. Daniels is fine enough to drive him into the corner back inside, followed by a suplex for two.

The chinlock doesn’t do much good for Daniels as Romero is back up with a springboard tornado DDT. A middle rope double stomp gives Romero two but Daniels crotches him on top. Angel’s Wings is countered and a kick to the face sets up the running Sliced Bread to finish Daniels at 8:07.

Rating: B-. This is a good example of a match that you knew was going to be good based on who was involved. Daniels and Romero could have a fine match with each other in their sleep and they did more than well enough here. The match might not have meant anything and Daniels continues to lose, but there are far worse ways to use show time.

Dalton Castle is panicking over the pressure from the fans and his heart is beating rather fast. He knows he makes the ratings spike so he wants to give the people what they want. Lexi Nair: “I don’t know what that was.”

Scorpio Sky vs. Fred Rosser

Rosser is better known as Darren Young (though he’s gotten a lot better since then). They fight over wrist control to start until Sky pulls him down into a headlock. Back up and a backbreaker gives Rosser a breather, setting up some hip smashes in the corner. The cravate holds Sky down but he’s right back up with a Sky High. The TKO is blocked though and Rosser drops him back first onto the apron for two. Sky shrugs it off and grabs the TKO for the pin at 5:57.

Rating: B-. Another good match in a series tonight as Rosser is someone who can work well with anyone. I’m not sure why he hasn’t gotten a shot on a bigger stage but he has built up a bit of a reputation in recent years. Sky is the same, as he is able to have a solid match with any opponent and that was the case again here. Go with more of these two, but maybe, with something important perhaps?

Lady Frost/Renegades vs. Willow Nightingale/Skye Blue/Kiera Hogan

Nightingale blocks Frost’s whip to start and hits the basement crossbody. Hogan and Blue come in for a double basement superkick but Blue gets taken into the wrong corner. A double suplex gives Robyn two and it’s back to Frost for a release fisherman’s suplex. Blue gets stomped down but rolls away from a double suplex. The hot tag brings in Hogan to clean house but Charlette cuts her off with a Samoan driver. Everything breaks down and Frost hits Blue with an Air Raid Crash. The Renegades are sent into each other and Nightingale gives Robyn the Babe With The Powerbomb for the pin at 5:54.

Rating: C+. They kept this moving and it made for an entertaining match. Nightingale continues to be as charismatic as any woman in AEW/ROH today and the Renegades are still smooth in the ring. Blue is treated like something of a star and Frost is a good hand, with Hogan having the fire to keep the energy up. Fun match here, even if there is no reason to believe any of them are going anywhere.

The Infantry and Trish Adora are ready for their matches tonight.

Ethan Page vs. Invictus Khash

Page grinds away on a headlock to start but gets his hair pulled. That earns Khash a series of right hands but he knocks Page out of the corner. Page gets rocked with a discus forearm, though he’s fine enough to send Khash outside. A shoulder off the apron sets up the slingshot cutter to give Page the pin at 2:59.

Mark Sterling and Tony Nese are ready for Satoshi Kojima, who likes bread. Carbs are the enemy you know.

TMDK vs. The Infantry

Bravo hugs Haste to start and they run around with neither being able to get anywhere. A double hiptoss into a double fist drop gets two on Haste but Nicholls trips Dean from the floor. The villains take over on Dean in the corner but he slips out of a belly to back suplex and kicks his way over to Bravo. House is quickly cleaned and a spinning faceplant gets two. Bravo goes up top but gets caught in a powerbomb/superplex combination for two. Everything breaks down and a diving DDT/Big Ending combination finishes Bravo at 7:36.

Rating: C+. TMDK is a good team who are the week’s guest stars, but it doesn’t help that they’ve already had their Trios Titles match and lost, making them a bit less interesting. Beating the Infantry doesn’t mean much around here, though they did put up a good fight. The main appeal was having a New Japan team here and while talented, they were another match on an already long show.

Ethan Page wants competition and if that happens to be Eddie Kingston, cool.

Tony Nese vs. Satoshi Kojima

Nese, crowd insults, group therapy, opponent interrupts. This time things go a bit further though, as Kojima loves bread, which Nese hates because of the carbs. Nese bounds off of Kojima to start and Kojima pops his pecs a bit. Mark Sterling trips Kojima down though and Nese sends him outside, where Sterling can get in a cheap shot.

Back in and Nese ties him in the Tree of Woe for the crunch kicks to the ribs. The bodyscissors stays on Kojima’s ribs but he fights up and hits the rapid fire chops in the corner. The top rope elbow gives Kojima two but Nese is right back with the neck snap across the top. Nese’s springboard moonsault gets two, only to have Kojima come back with a Koji Cutter. The lariat finishes Nese at 7:21.

Rating: C. This was another match featuring a guest star and while it’s cool to see Kojima here, there is only so much to be gotten out of having him beat up Nese. It’s the same match and series of crowd insults that we’ve seen for months and it’s not exactly fascinating in the first place. At least they had something with the Bread Club stuff but there wasn’t much else here.

Athena is NOT impressed with Billie Starkz’s minioning so more training is needed. Lexi Nair doesn’t like it either. As a result, Starkz has to go to Tony Khan’s office, shout “My name is Willow Nightingale and I’m a big loser!” and leave. As usual, these things are great.

Trish Adora vs. Billie Starkz

Athena is here with Starkz, who is knocked outside and gets some Athena yelling. Back in and Starkz drives her into the buckle over and over but Adora kicks her in the face over and over. Adora hits some hip attacks in the corner, until Starks comes back with a hard forearm. The Swanton hits raised knees but Starkz shrugs it off and grabs a lifting Pedigree. A Bank Statement finishes Adora at 4:05.

Rating: C. This would be your third Starkz segment of the night and while they’re still the best thing on the show, they might want to spread her stuff out a bit. Adora continues her fall down the ladder and I’m not sure how much further she can fall. The match didn’t have time to go very far but it could have been worse.

Lee Johnson vs. Darius Martin

Commentary starts talking about the pandemic shots as the guys go technical to start and trade some legsweeps for two each. Martin slips out of a hiptoss and knocks him down but Johnson manages a shove into the corner. A belly to back suplex gives Johnson two and we hit the chinlock. Martin suplexes his way to freedom and a springboard faceplant gets two on Johnson. Johnson’s Blue Thunder Bomb gets the same but Martin grabs a suplex. The frog slash finishes Johnson at 6:47.

Rating: C. The action was fine, the wrestlers are both talented and they had a completely watchable match. The problem here is it’s the tenth match an hour and forty minutes into a show and they came in ice cold. It’s kind of hard to get into a match between two people who are going nowhere when the show has already run long as it is and it really hurt things here. Not a bad match at all, but it was stuck in a horrible spot.

Shane Taylor Promotions vs. Cole Karter/Griff Garrison vs. Iron Savages vs. Workhorsemen

One fall to a finish. Henry and Moriarty start things off and technical to a standoff. Bronson comes in and is taken into the corner so Drake can slingshot in with a hilo. A forearm into a DDT gets two on Garrison as the rapid fire tags continue. It’s off to Taylor to headbutt Henry and a splash gets two. Drake comes back in and beats up Karter as everything breaks down. The Savages clean house and consume some Savage Sauce, which Maria Kanellis-Bennett steals. Taylor uses the distraction to blast Karter with a right hand for the pin at 7:35.

Rating: C+. This was one of those matches where there were so many people flying around that it was difficult to keep track of everything that was going on. Taylor getting the pin continues his rise back to the higher levels of Ring Of Honor and that is a good thing for a lot of people. Other than that, Karter and Garrison continue to be a waste of Maria and I do not get why whatsoever.

Komander/Gravity/Metalik vs. Spanish Announce Project/Gringo Loco

Loco and Metalik start things off with Metalik kicking him in the head and snapping off a rope walk hurricanrana. Loco flips out of a headscissors though and it’s off to Komander vs. Angelico. It’s quickly off to Gravity, who gets flapjacked into a splash on Angelico before snapping off a hurricanrana of his own.

Everything breaks down and a triple basement dropkick hits Gravity. Loco hits a powerbomb for two and Komander gets beaten down in the corner. Komander is fine enough to use Loco as a launchpad for a hurricanrana and it’s back to Metalik. Loco super Spanish Flies Komander and hits a dive onto the floor. Back in and Komander hits a springboard spinning Canadian Destroyer to drop Loco, followed by the rope walk shooting star press for the pin at 8:47.

Rating: B-. As has been the case for years, there is something to be said about taking a bunch of luchadors and letting them go nuts for a little while with the flips and the dive. It continues to work here, with everyone getting to do at least a little something. It could have been better served earlier in the show, but this kind of thing is always fun and it worked great here.

Overall Rating: C. Let me get this out of the way first: the wrestling here was absolutely not the problem. Everything was perfectly watchable at worst with some good matches sprinkled throughout. Match wise, nothing on here was even close to bad and all of the action was fine…but there is a lot more to a wrestling show than that.

I didn’t think it was possible, but they have somehow made this show feel even less important. Save for a pre-taped interview which had aired on AEW’s Youtube page four days earlier, there was no appearance from any champion here outside of Athena. That leaves you with a bunch of people fighting for possible title shots down the line, even though title shots tend to go to guest stars or AEW wrestlers with nothing else to do. On top of that though, despite having almost nothing of note to a lot of these matches, the show has somehow gotten EVEN LONGER, clocking in at 2:06 this week.

I’m not sure what the point is for having the show go this long, but it’s like they’re trying to make it feel less important. Throw in a lot of the ROH champions not even having their belts this week on Dynamite and it feels like ROH is getting the spotlight shifted away from the little space that it has. But then the show goes longer while filling it with less important stuff. As usual, this show is a mess, and it has nothing to do with the wrestling.

Results
Athena b. Leyla Hirsch – Despicable Knee
Josh Woods b. Tyler Payne – Tilt-A-Woods
Rocky Romero b. Christopher Daniels – Running Sliced Bread
Scorpio Sky b. Fred Rosser – TKO
Willow Nightingale/Skye Blue/Kiera Hogan b. Lady Frost/Renegades – Babe With The Powerbomb to Robyn
Ethan Page b. Invictus Khash – Slingshot cutter
TMNK b. The Infantry – Middle rope DDT/Big Ending to Bravo
Satoshi Kojima b. Tony Nese – Lariat
Billie Starkz b Trish Adora – Bank Statement
Shane Taylor Promotions b. Iron Savages, Griff Garrison/Cole Karter and Workhorsemen – Right hand to Karter
Komander/Gravity/Metalik b. Gringo Loco/Spanish Announce Project – Rope walk shooting star press to Loco

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

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AND

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Ring Of Honor
Date: September 21, 2023
Location: Bryce Jordan Center, State College, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

Things have gotten a lot more interesting around here as we have a new Ring Of Honor World Champion in the form of Eddie Kingston. The problem with that is it might not have much of an impact on the show as not much happens around here, plus the whole this show was taped before the title change. Let’s get to it.

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

Eddie Kingston opens the show and talks about what a great champion Claudio Castagnoli is. He’s proud and happy but that will change as soon as he gets back to the hotel and realizes he has to defend the title. This is dedicated to Xavier, the second Ring Of Honor World Champion and someone people don’t remember.

Opening sequence.

Pure Rules Title: Nick Wayne vs. Katsuyori Shibata

Wayne, who has never wrestled in ROH or had a Pure Rules match, is challenging. They go to the mat with Shibata working on a bodyscissors before switching over to the arm. It’s too early for the PK so Shibata pulls him into an ankle lock, sending Wayne to the ropes for the first time. They head outside with Wayne being sent into the barricade for a running boot to the face.

Back in and Shibata kicks him in the face a few times but Wayne fights up with a jumping elbow. There’s a shotgun dropkick into the corner so Wayne can forearm away, setting up a basement dropkick. Shibata isn’t having that and unloads in the corner, setting up a suplex for two. The cobra twist goes on but Wayne uses a second rope break, with the third being used seconds later. Wayne gets in a shot of his own but Wayne’s World is countered into the sleeper. The PK retains the title at 9:17.

Rating: C+. Not a bad way to open the show, but as commentary pointed out: it was Wayne’s first ROH match as well as his first Pure Rules match. That makes the idea of him winning the title more than a little hard to buy and Wayne felt like he was in over his head. In other words, it felt like a match for the sake of getting a title match on the show and that’s not a great idea.

Lee Johnson is interrupted by Shane Taylor Promotions and Lee Moriarty is ready for him tonight.

Diamante vs. Catie Brite

Diamante runs her over to start and fires off some elbows to the chin. Brite gets a rollup out of the corner for two but Diamante is back with a Cross Rhodes for the pin at 1:57. Not much to see here.

The Infantry and Willie Mack are ready to win the Six Man Tag Team Titles tonight.

Lee Johnson vs. Lee Moriarty

They fight over a lockup and wristlock to start until Moriarty sends him into the corner for a shot to the face. Back up and Johnson sends him outside but Moriarty stomps away on the way back in. The seated abdominal stretch goes on but Johnson fights up and makes the clothesline comeback. A Blue Thunder Bomb gives Johnson two and a superkick into a frog splash gets the same. Back up and Moriarty hits a dropkick into an enziguri for the pin at 7:18.

Rating: C. Well Moriarty wasn’t going to lose so soon after joining Shane Taylor Promotions so this was about getting him in the ring and having him break a sweat. The good thing is that Johnson did get in some offense so this wasn’t a squash. Johnson continues to be a nice hand who needs a few wins to establish himself as a bigger threat, but I’m not sure those are going to come.

And now, Minion Training with Athena training Billie Starks and Lexi Nair in tasks such as running the steps, giving her a standing ovation and booing people don’t like. Nair is dubbed the Minion Bestie, but Starkz still sucks. More funny stuff here.

Trish Adora vs. Mercedes Martinez

Martinez grabs a headlock to start and takes Adora down, only to have Adora escape without much trouble. A spinebuster gives Martinez two and a forearm staggers Adora again. Martinez hits a suplex for two more but Adora gets a suplex of her own. That’s too much for Martinez, who hits a running knee into a Hidden Blade into the Brass City Sleeper to make Adora tap at 4:39.

Rating: C. Almost a squash here as Martinez gets to look like a monster again. She’s someone who could easily be slotted in or a title shot and hopefully that comes sooner rather than later. At the same time you have Adora, who has fallen pretty far through the cracks. She felt like someone ready to move up the ladder yet here she is instead, losing in less than five minutes with so little offense. That’s kind of disappointing but not everyone can can a push.

Women’s Title: Athena vs. Angelina Love

Athena, with Billie Starkz, is defending. They go with some standing switches to start until Love takes her down into an armbar. Athena breaks out and hits a basement Meteora but gets dropped hard on the floor. Back in and Athena’s head gets slammed onto the mat before they trade rollups for two each. Love gets the better of things and pulls her into a chinlock before taking it to the mat again to cut off a comeback attempt.

Athena fights up again without much trouble, setting up a kick to the face. The O Face is broken up (partially due to Starkz’s cheering) and the Botox Injection (pump kick) gives Love two. Back up and Starkz offers a distraction, allowing Athena to grab an over the shoulder backbreaker into a Codebreaker for the retaining pin at 6:21.

Rating: C+. Love is someone with enough of a history to hang in there with Athena but this was still about Athena and Starkz. That all but has to be the big match at Final Battle but my goodness that’s a good ways off. For now though, Athena gets a win over a name rather than devouring another nobody/midcarder.

Maria Kanellis-Bennett is ready for Griff Garrison and Cole Karter’s first match as a team. Garrison already doesn’t seem confident.

Leyla Hirsch/Renegades vs. Willow Nightingale/Skye Blue/Kiera Hogan

Hogan hurricanranas Robyn out of the corner and it’s off to Blue for a basement superkick. Charlette comes in to take over on Blue and grab a chinlock before Leyla tags herself in for some German suplexes. Blue manages to come back with another kick and it’s Nightingale coming in to clean house. A double suplex drops the Renegades for two as everything breaks down. Hogan kicks Robyn in the head and grabs a neckbreaker. Everyone else heads outside and it’s Code Blue to finish Charlette at 7:11.

Rating: B-. This was the fun six person tag and that’s what they were trying to do here. Nightingale and Blue are good for a spot like this and Hogan has grown quite a bit. Unfortunately the Renegades have fallen through the floor in recent weeks after a rather promising start. Hirsch is someone else who should be given a chance and could have a spot with that style but instead she’s here filling in a three woman team.

Tony Nese and the Spanish Announce Project are ready for their debut as a team. If they win, Nese will give them free group training. They aren’t impressed.

Ethan Page vs. VSK

They trade headlocks to start until VSK has to go to the eyes to escape. The Ego’s Edge is broken up and VSK fires off some strikes. Page catches him in a kind of cobra clutch belly to back suplex, setting up a slingshot cutter for the pin at 2:11. Not much here but Page is someone worth pushing around here.

Tony Nese/Spanish Announce Project vs. El Hijo del Vikingo/Gravity/Metalik

Well that’s kind of one sided. Mark Sterling introduces Nese for his usual stuff, though he does mock the local college football team. Serpentico and Metalik turn up the speed to start with Metalik grabbing a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Angelico comes in and gets flipped over by Gravity but it’s too early for the dive.

Instead Vikingo springboards in to take over on Nese, including a missile dropkick. Vikingo loads up the big springboard dive but lands HARD on his hip and oh yeah that’s going to be a problem. Metalik and Gravity hit their own big flip dives before Metalik takes Nese back inside for a running knee. Nese dropkicks him down though and slap tags Angelico in, which doesn’t seem to go well.

A legdrop keeps Metalik in trouble as Vikingo is nowhere to be seen. Metalik’s sunset bomb gets him out of trouble and the hot tag brings Gravity back in to clean house. Everything breaks down and Metalik powerbombs Serpentico for two with Nese making the save. Nese goes for Gravity’s mask but that’s too far for Serpentico and Angelico, who walk out instead. That leaves Metalik to come in with the rope walk Swanton for the pin on Nese at 8:32.

Rating: B-. Another entertaining match here, Vikingo injury aside. That is the kind of thing that is going to happen at some point as Vikingo’s style is so high risk in the first place. Then you have Nese going too far and annoying his already not so interested partners. Sometimes it’s nice to see a villain get what is coming to them and that is what they did here.

Ethan Page is glad to have a bit of a winning streak around here and talks about how great it was to challenge for the World Title in his hometown. It’s been downhill from there though and now it’s time to rebuild himself around here because this is the place for competition. This is a Page I could see going somewhere and that’s a good thing.

Griff Garrison/Cole Karter vs. Action Andretti/Darius Martin

Maria Kanellis-Bennett is here with Garrison and Karter. Martin armdrags Martin to start before it’s off to Garrison to grapple it out with Andretti. Martin comes back in for a top rope double stomp to the back of the head but Maria offers a distraction so Garrison can score with a big boot.

Garrison doesn’t like that interference and doesn’t like her choking on the ropes any more. It’s back to Martin to pick up the pace, including a double handspring elbow. Karter grabs a rollup and puts feet on the ropes, which is broken up by Garrison. Maria and Garrison yell at each other so Andretti dives onto Garrison. Martin’s suplex sets up Andretti’s springboard 450 to finish Karter at 4:52.

Rating: C. I’m really not sure I get this Maria story. She’s an experienced and successful manager who is billed as a mastermind but she picks these two goofs to be her army to protect the Kingdom, who aren’t even on this show. I’m assuming the story is she can make anyone good, but if she’s that talented, why not just give her an established team. LIKE THE KINGDOM?

Post match Garrison shows respect but Karter isn’t having that and makes him leave.

Six Man Tag Team Titles: Mogul Embassy vs. Infantry/Willie Mack

The Embassy, with Prince Nana, is defending. Kaun shoulders Dean down to start but Dean snaps off a dropkick so Bravo can come in for a wishbone. Toa comes in to miss a charge in the corner but runs Bravo over with a shoulder. It’s back to Kaun for some rolling suplexes and an early near fall.

Cage hits the clotheslines in the corner but Bravo gets over to Mack to take over. The swinging slam puts Cage down and there’s a running boot in the corner. That doesn’t work for Cage, who suplexes Mack down in quite the power display. Everything breaks down and the Infantry kicks away at Toa, leaving Mack to hit his frog splash for two on Cage. That’s broken up and Open The Gates finishes Mack at 9:26.

Rating: B-. They had another fast paced match here but this was the latest case of a three man team being put together over a few weeks and then losing to the champs. The Embassy has been built up as being almost unbeatable and that makes for some less than dramatic title matches. Granted that might change with the Young Bucks and Hangman Page coming for the belts, but for now it’s just pretty good action without much drama.

Overall Rating: C+. This was a great example of Ring Of Honor in a nutshell. Yes there was good action and the wrestling was good enough to work, but it’s another hour and forty five minute show with a lot of things being lost in the shuffle. There were ten matches on this show and you could have probably cut almost half of them without missing much. Even the title matches, which are nice to have around, were just kind of there for the sake of having them included, as Wayne, Love and the Infantry/Mack didn’t feel like viable challenges. The wrestling carried it again, but this show is just not very fun most of the time.

Results
Katsuyori Shibata b. Nick Wayne – PK
Diamante b. Catie Brite – Cross Rhodes
Lee Moriarty b. Lee Johnson – Enziguri
Mercedes Martinez b. Trish Adora – Brass City Sleeper
Athena b. Angelina Love – Spinning facebuster
Willow Nightingale/Skye Blue/Kiera Hogan b. Renegades/Leyla Hirsch – Code Blue to Charlette
Ethan Page b. VSK – Slingshot cutter
El Hijo del Vikingo/Metalik/Gravity b. Tony Nese/Spanish Announce Project – Rope walk Swanton to Nese
Action Andretti/Darius Martin b. Cole Karter/Griff Garrison – Springboard 450 to Karter
Mogul Embassy b. Infantry/Willie Mack – Open The Gates to Mack

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

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

AND

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

Ring Of Honor
Date: September 7, 2023
Location: United Center, Chicago, Illinois
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We’re back to the usual schedule and as expected, the show is the longest it has been in a few weeks. That’s how Ring Of Honor works when things are set up as Tony Khan wants them to be and I’m still not sure why. The big stories continue to be Athena and Maria Kanellis-Bennett’s glacially paced building up of her new army to protect the Kingdom. Let’s get to it.

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

Athena and Billie Starkz aren’t on the same page about Athena losing on the All Out Zero Hour. Allysin Kay comes in and challenges Athena for tonight. Athena yells a lot and a title match is set.

Opening sequence.

Women’s Title: Allysin Kay vs. Athena

Athena, with Billie Starkz is defending and poses/waves to the crowd a lot to start. Kay armdrags her down for one and Athena needs a breather on the floor. Back in and Starkz seems conflicted about whether to cheat, only to have Athena take over in the corner instead. The forearms in the rope and a running knee rock Kay again, followed by a spinebuster for two.

Athena grabs the chinlock but mocks Kay’s pinkies up thing and gets forearmed in the face. The AK-47 into the ankle lock has Athena in trouble but she kicks her way to freedom. One heck of a forearm drops Kay, who is fine enough to break up the O Face. Not that it matters as the O Face finishes Kay at 9:18.

Rating: B-. That’s a Ring Of Honor match and story if I’ve ever seen one. They set this up and paid it off in less than fifteen minutes. For the life of me I do not get why Ring Of Honor insists on going through things this fast but here we are again. Athena gets to vanquish someone else while Starkz isn’t sure what to do and odds are we’ll see it again in the near future.

Post match Athena wants Starkz to take out Kay but Athena has to do it herself.

We look at MJF and Samoa Joe getting in a fight on Dynamite.

Silas Young vs. Tony Nese

Mark Sterling is here with Nese, who does the exact same thing he does before every match he has these days. Nese tries to jump him to start but Young hammers away. Young sends him to the apron for the springboard clothesline and the fight goes out to the floor. A posting cuts Young off and they head back inside so Nese can kick away at the arm. Nese’s middle rope dropkick gets two and we hit the armbar. Nese misses a spinning kick though and gets blasted by a clothesline. Young stomps at the chest but Nese slips out of a fireman’s carry. The running Nese finishes Young at 5:24.

Rating: C. This was a nice way to get Nese a win over someone with some name value and the arm work went well enough. Nese is someone who is going to be around pretty regularly and at some point he needs to have some success. Nice match, though I could go with Young actually doing something other than jobbing for a change.

Post match Nese gives him a sweaty handshake.

Dalton Castle is bamboozled with all of the problems in front of him, including having to take care of his Boys. He needs to eat (yes eat) these problems, and yes he knows his new shirt is awesome.

Spanish Announce Project vs. Adam Priest/Schaff

Luther is here with the Project. Priest and Angelico start things off and the Project seems to have some fans here. They fight over wrist control with Serpentico coming in for some wrist cranking of his own. The much bigger Schaff comes in and stomps Serpentico down in the corner. A toss suplex makes it worse for Serpentico but he avoids a charge in the corner. The tag brings Angelico back in to pick up the pace, including a dancing kick to Schaff. A leglock makes Schaff tap at 3:35.

Rating: C. This was just a step above a squash for the Project as they are starting to actually do something for a change. I’m not exactly buying them as a serious threat going forward but at least they’re getting a few wins. The tag division can need some fresh blood and the fans like the team so go with it for the time being.

Kiera Hogan is ready for Leila Grey tonight and she’ll fight anyone else too.

Renegades vs. Willow Nightingale/Skye Blue

Blue again has the Chicago flag gear. Charlette’s headlock doesn’t do much to Blue to start as she hits a dropkick for two. A swinging neckbreaker lets Willow come in for a backsplash but Robyn comes in with a kick to Blue’s head. Robyn grabs a fisherman’s suplex for two and stereo kicks to the face put Blue down again. Blue manages to roll away and gets the diving tag to Willow for the house cleaning. The Pounce to Robyn and a spinebuster to Charlette gets two as everything breaks down. A Death Valley Driver into Code Blue finishes Robyn at 5:26.

Rating: C+. Nice fast paced match here, but Blue in the same Chicago style gear winning matches on three shows with the same rollup finisher isn’t having quite the impact. I get the idea but it’s the problem with having AEW run so many shows in a row and presenting the same people so many times. And hey the Renegades lose again because that’s what they do these days.

Mogul Embassy vs. Griff Garrison/Gravity/Metalik

Non-title Proving Ground match, meaning if Garrison and company win or last the ten minute time limit, they get a future title shot. Kaun runs Garrison over to start and it’s already off to Toa, who teams up with Cage for a double faceplant. Garrison slips out of a suplex though and it’s Gravity coming in for a rollup. A superkick staggers Cage and it’s Metalik coming in with a springboard high crossbody. The reverse Sling Blade drops Cage and there’s the rope walk dropkick The rope walk Swanton gets two more and everything breaks down. A powerbomb/middle rope splash combination finishes Metalik at 5:44.

Rating: C. You know, it would be rather interesting if the challengers won, or just survived the time limit, for a Proving Ground match for once. They’ve been doing them for months now and no one has actually survived. The challengers weren’t anything special in this case but the Embassy has been so dominant that someone even making it to ten minutes with them would be a big shakeup. That new finisher was nice too so they are at least doing something new.

Leila Grey vs. Kiera Hogan

It’s the battle of the Baddies. They argue over a pull of the tights to start before missing an elbow each. Hogan knocks her down and hits a springboard legdrop for two. Grey is back up with a knee to the ribs and Baddies themed trash talk. A powerslam gives Grey two more but Hogan is back up with a dropkick into the corner. The running hip attack in the corner gets two but Grey hits a fast spear for the same. Grey loads up her fan, which is quickly taken away. That’s enough for Hogan to hit Face The Music for the pin at 5:35.

Rating: C. I’m not sure how many people were thinking about the Baddies, but other than a few off the cuff mentions, that wasn’t the focus here. Hogan is someone AEW/ROH always seems ready to push but they just won’t go with it. There are worse options though, as Hogan has some tools to become a player in the division. Grey is decent too, but they both need a lot more seasoning.

Maria Kanellis-Bennett thinks Griff Garrison (as brought up by Cole Karter) has potential and tells him to think about it.

Infantry/Willie Mack vs. Davey Bang/August Matthews/Jah-C

Jah and Bravo start things off with the latter taking over on the arm. Dean comes in and stays on said arm before handing it off to Mack to face Matthews. Mack dances a bit and hits a running kick to the chest, meaning Bang gets to come in. The Infantry takes turns beating up Bang and Mack gets two off a Sky High. Everything breaks down and Mack and company hit a triple superkick. Boot Camp finishes Bang at 3:06.

Rating: C. Another squash here but it’s nice to see a team forming in the six man division. That’s more than a lot of teams seem to get and it’s always a good idea to have Mack doing something. The Infantry has gone from nobodies to a team who can do some nice things in the ring, so this is another example of bringing some people up in a good way.

Lee Johnson is ready for Claudio Castagnoli tonight.

Lady Frost vs. Leyla Hirsch

They fight over a lockup to start, even going to the mat a few times. With that not working for either of them, Hirsch kicks Frost’s elbow out during a handspring to take over. Cue Maria Kanellis-Bennett and Cole Karter to watch as Hirsch grabs a Fujiwara armbar. Back up and Frost scores with a kick to the head before a handspring elbow gets two. Hirsch sends her into the corner though and the cross armbreaker makes Frost tap at 4:04.

Rating: C. Hirsch has been the best thing about Maria’s search for an army but even then it’s only so good. Maria has said that these people are there to protect the Kingdom, even though they have yet to actually do anything with the Kingdom. That doesn’t make for the best story, though Hirsch mauling people was fun to see as usual.

Post match Maria comes in for the handshake but Hirsch walks off, saying she’s doing fine on her own.

Eddie Kingston/Katsuyori Shibata vs. Gringo Loco/Blake Christian

Shibata and Christian go with the grappling to start with Shibata getting the better of things (shocking I know). Kingston comes in for the rapid fire chops in the corner and there’s a t-bone suplex for two. It’s off to Loco for the chop off with Kingston before leg lariating Kingston down. Kingston gets taken into the wrong corner but Christian’s frog splash hits raised knees. Shibata comes back in and gets to clean house, including a suplex for two on Christian. There’s the spinning backfist to Loco but Christian sends Kingston outside for a flip dive. Back in and Shibata sleepers Christian into the PK for the pin at 6:12.

Rating: C+. This got a hair more time and it helped a bit, though Shibata still doesn’t exactly feel like the most impressive star at the moment. He had some serious medical issues that slowed him down, but he hasn’t been the most interesting star since his return. I’m sure it was a thrill for Kingston to team with him though and they gave us a good enough match to make it work. Now just get Kingston on to Castagnoli already.

Respect is shown post match.

Mark Sterling and Josh Woods want better competition so the open challenge is on.

Claudio Castagnoli vs. Lee Johnson

Non-title Proving Ground match with Wheeler Yuta in Castagnoli’s corner. Castagnoli wastes no time in taking him into the corner (not the one with Yuta) and Johnson is in trouble early. A belly to back suplex gives Castagnoli two but Johnson gets in some kicks to the head. Johnson slips out of a fall away slam and gets two off a DDT. The uppercut gives Castagnoli two and a heck of a lariat gets the same. Castagnoli unloads with the elbows but won’t let the referee stop it. Instead it’s Swiss Death to finish Johnson at 3:35.

Rating: C. Johnson got in some offense here but ultimately there is only so much you can do against a monster like Castagnoli. That being said, Castagnoli could really use some kid of a story. He rarely defends the title and it would be nice to have someone come after it. I’d still assume that’s going to be Eddie Kingston, but there could be something to bridge what has already been a long gap.

Iron Savages vs. Caleb Konley/Ren Jones

Jacked Jameson is here with the Savages and handles their introductions. Bronson shoves Konley down to start and grabs a powerslam. Konley has to slip out of Boulder’s slam so Jones comes in and gets slammed. The assisted splash finishes Jones at 1:23. Well that worked.

Athena yells at Billie Starkz for leaving her hanging earlier so Athena says it’s time for minion training.

Best Friends/Action Andretti/Darius Martin vs. Outrunners/Workhorsemen

The villains jump them from behind to start and it’s a brawl on the floor to get things going. Back in and Henry DDT’s Beretta for two, followed by a powerslam/DDT combination to give Floyd two. A top rope double stomp gets two on Beretta but Floyd steals the tag from Drake. Beretta sends the Outrunners into each other and it’s Martin coming in to pick up the pace. A double DDT drops the Outrunners as everything breaks down. Taylor saves Martin from a double suplex and it’s Soul Food into a half dragon suplex to drop Magnum. Strong Zero finishes Magnum at 4:48.

Rating: C+. At least they finished with a fast paced match that didn’t bother with much in the way of tagging. This was about getting a bunch of people in there for a hot match and that’s what they did well enough. It was all about energy rather than the quality of the match and in some situations, like this one, that is absolutely the best move.

Overall Rating: C. On one hand, I liked that it came off as if some people are getting some new pushes. That has been lacking in ROH for a long time now and it felt a bit different here. At the same time though, my goodness did this show feel long. It was right back to the same problems for ROH, of what felt like a month of shows crammed into one episode. I have no idea why they insist on setting something up and blowing it off literally in the same show, but that has been the case since ROH returned. This show can be good, but the way it is presented gets in its own way far too often, with the problems on full display here.

Results
Athena b. Allysin Kay – O Face
Tony Nese b. Silas Young – Running Nese
Spanish Announce Project b. Adam Priest/Schaff – Leglock to Schaff
Willow Nightingale/Skye Blue b. Renegades – Code Blue to Robyn
Mogul Embassy b. Griff Garrison/Gravity/Metalik – Powerbomb/middle rope splash combination to Metalik
Kiera Hogan b. Leila Grey – Face The Music
The Infantry/Willie Mack b. Jah-C/August Matthews/Davey Bang – Boot Camp to bang
Leyla Hirsch b. Lady Frost – Cross armbreaker
Eddie Kingston/Katsuyori Shibata b. Blake Christian/Gringo Loco – PK to Christian
Claudio Castagnoli b. Lee Johnson – Swiss Death
Iron Savages b. Caleb Konley/Ren Jones – Electric chair splash to Jones
Best Friends/Action Andretti/Darius Martin b. Outrunners/Workhorsemen – Strong Zero to Magnum

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Ring Of Honor
Date: July 27, 2023
Location: Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We’re done with a high quality but mostly skippable pay per view with Death Before Dishonor. The biggest change from the show saw Aussie Open becoming the new Tag Team Champions while everyone else retained. That should lead to something interesting, though there is no word on when the next major show is going to be. Let’s get to it.

Here is Death Before Dishonor if you need a recap.

The show is back up to just shy of two hours, the longest in about a month. I’m sure what’s what was missing from the build towards Death Before Dishonor.

Josh Woods vs. Eli Isom

Pure Rules, with Pure Champion Katsuyori Shibata as a guest judge (alone with Jerry Lynn and Jimmy Jacobs). Mark Sterling is here with Woods (along with the rest of the Varsity Athletes), who would rather wrestle in front of real New Yorkers rather than fake ones in Newark. Woods wrestles him into the ropes to start and that’s Isom’s first break. Back up and Isom takes him down into an armbar, only to get kicked hard out of the corner.

Another running shot to the face rocks Isom and Woods sends him shoulder first into the buckle. Isom intentionally uses a rope to escape the beating before using some forearms to stagger Woods. A swinging belly to back suplex gives Isom two but Woods armbars him over to the ropes for the final rope. Woods grabs a sleeper into a PK into the Gorilla lock for the tap at 7:55.

Rating: C. This was more or less a pure rules squash as Woods would seem to be the next challenger for Shibata. That doesn’t make for the most interesting match but that is the case with a lot of the Pure Rules matches. They work well from a technical standpoint, but seeing a lot of the same people having not the most thrilling matches in the world doesn’t do a lot o good.

Post match Sterling challenges Shibata for a title match against Woods.

Trish Adora is ready to get back on track.

Trish Adora vs. Vita Vonstarr

Vita shoves her away to start so Adora grabs a headlock. The Air Raid Crash is loaded up but Adora switches into the kneeling stretch instead (that needs a name). Back up and Vita grabs a Black Widow but Adora isn’t having any of that and runs her over with ax handles for two. Vita’s Michinoku driver gets two, only to have Adora come back with the Lariat Tubman for the pin at 4:20.

Rating: C. Vonstarr got in some offense here, which isn’t a surprise as she used to be a regular for Ring Of Honor before everything changed. Adora gets some momentum back and still seems like someone who could be put into a heck of a title feud if given the chance. Granted it might be a bit with Leyla Hirsch back, but at least Adora didn’t lose again here.

Six Man Tag Team Titles: Mogul Embassy vs. Iron Savages/Jacked Jameson

The Embassy, with Prince Nana, is defending. Commentary points out that Cage has been on 17/22 episodes of ROH thus far, because I guess we just haven’t gotten the point already. Jameson and Boulder take turns being thrown at Cage in the corner but Jameson gets taken into the champs’ corner to start the chops. A fireman’s carry is escaped though and it’s Bronson coming in to clean house.

Kaun wastes no time in cutting him off though and it’s Loa coming in to elbow Braun in the face. A superplex drops Bronson for two but he’s back up with a shot to the face, allowing the tag off to Boulder. Everything breaks down and Boulder powerslams Kaun for two but Toa is back in to wreck things. Bronson chokebombs Cage for two but he’s back up to suplex Jameson. Kaun hits a Pedigree of all things to pin Jameson at 10:10.

Rating: B-. The match was the kind of mostly wild power brawl that made for an entertaining ten minutes. At the same time though, the fact that Cage has been around that often doesn’t exactly keep him feeling interesting. It feels like these titles are being defended almost every week against one thrown together team after another. It’s not like the matches are exactly great, so why put them on over and over?

Leyla Hirsch vs. B3cca

Hirsch runs her over without much trouble to start and then chokes with the boot in the corner. A gutwrench suplex sets up a waistlock on B3cca but she’s back up with a shotgun dropkick. B3cca’s running knee in the corner sets up a missed middle rope dropkick, allowing Leyla to hit a running knee for the pin at 3:37.

Rating: C. This was a rather Ring Of Honor match with Leyla mostly dominating and shrugging off almost whatever B3cca throws at her. Leyla continues to feel like one of the stars ready to break through to the other side but, much like Adora, you have to let her move up a bit. Leyla has been back in the ring for a few weeks now and her feet should be adequately watered. Let her do something other than squash people already.

Athena wants someone to step up already because she’s tired of beating “local jobbers”.

Renegades vs. Tiara James/JC

JC slugs away at Charlotte to start but makes sure to knock Robyn off the apron. Robyn is right back up for a double suplex and the double stomping is on in the corner. That’s broken up and the tag brings in James to clean house, including a bulldog to Charlotte. That doesn’t last long though and it’s a Sling Blade Hart Attack to finish James at 3:57.

Rating: C. I still like the Renegades but like many women’s tag teams, there isn’t much for them to do right now. There is no women’s tag division and while one of them can be fine on their own, it’s a little weird to see one without the other in the ring. Find something for them to do and let the talent play out, but that might be a little trickier than expected.

Athena vs. Christina Marie

Non-title Proving Ground match, meaning that if Marie either wins or survives the ten minute time limit, she gets a future title shot. Marie kicks her in the back to start and adds a Hennig necksnap for one. Athena gets up and blasts Marie with a forearm before hammering away on the mat.

As we hear about Tony Khan only giving title shots to people in the top five or top ten (like Aussie Open and the Best Friends, who hadn’t wrestled here in three months before getting a title shot last week), Athena knocks her outside and then chokes on the ropes. A bunch of forearms to the back set up a kick to the head, followed by the big right hand to finish Marie at 3:21.

Rating: C. Remember how Cage has been around for all but five Ring Of Honors? I’d be surprised if Athena didn’t have him beat. It’s getting really hard to get invested in Athena slaughtering someone else, especially after she beat her best challenger last week. It’s a good example of how leaving her off a show or two would help a lot, but for some reason she, and several others, are on almost every show. Marie’s minute or so looked good but what is she supposed to get out of that?

Post match Athena gives her the usual post match beatdown.

The Kingdom vs. Rhett Titus/Tracy Williams

Maria is here with the Kingdom. Bennett and Williams chop it out to start and it’s quickly off to Taven for a change. A quick middle rope dropkick takes Williams down but Titus comes in to pick up the pace. Titus gets caught in a backbreaker/middle rope elbow combination but he gets the knees up to block a Lionsault.

Williams comes back in and hits a reverse Death Valley Driver to slam Taven’s knees into the mat (that’s a new one). Bennett and Williams grab stereo holds and sit down on them, setting up the slap off. With those broken up, Titus comes in to knock Taven silly but picks him up instead of covering. The delay lets Taven hit Just The Tip, setting up the Proton Pack to finish for the Kingdom at 7:34.

Rating: B-. Another good match here as the Kingdom continues their roll, but why should I believe that this means anything? When you can get a title match at random, these matches lose the interest that they have. I still like the Kingdom a good bit, but for some reason they’re stuck either here or on Rampage while the tag division in both companies isn’t exactly deep.

Stokely Hathaway and Samoa Joe announced a new #1 contenders tournament for the TV Title. Like the one that ended last week?

#1 Contenders Tournament First Round: Christopher Daniels vs. JD Drake

Daniels flips him over into an armbar to start before hitting a dropkick to put Drake down. Back up and Drake hits a clothesline, setting up the chinlock with a knee in the back to keep Daniels in trouble. A swinging Boss Man Slam gives Drake two before it’s time for a chop off. Daniels kicks the knee out and hits a clothesline to the back of the head, setting up a top rope Downward Spiral for two. Drake crushes him with a cannonball in the corner for two of his own The moonsault misses though and the Best Moonsault Ever finishes for Daniels at 6:06.

Rating: C+. This was about what you would have expected from a match between these two and that means it was decent enough. What mattered here was having Daniels get a win after fighting from underneath a bit, which he can still do rather well. Him winning the whole thing isn’t out of the question and it wouldn’t surprise me at this point.

Big Bill/Lee Moriarty vs. Gabriel Hodder/Adrien Soriano

Moriarty takes over on Soriano to start but gets hit in the face for his efforts. Hodder comes in and is dropped just as quickly so it’s off to Bill for a double clothesline. The chokeslam finishes Hodder at 3:09.

Rating: C-. I’m not sure what the deal is going to be for Big Bill, as he is suddenly in two teams, both of whom are treated as a threat to win something. At the moment though, the team with Brian Cage seems to be a bigger deal and that is likely a better place for him to go. The Moriarty team is fine, but there is something about a big power team that works rather well.

#1 Contenders Tournament First Round: Tony Nese vs. Cheeseburger

Before the match, Nese does the same “you people are fat so we’re going to do group training” speech he has been doing for the last few weeks. Nese whips him into the corner to start but Cheeseburger slides away and climbs on top of him for an arm crank. With that broken up, Cheeseburger is tied in the Tree of Woe for some rapid fire kicks to the ribs. Cheeseburger knees his way out of a suplex and grabs one of his own, setting up a bulldog. The Shotei palm strike gets two on Nese, followed by a DDT for two. Mark Sterling offers a distraction though and Nese grabs a pumphandle driver for the pin at 5:53.

Rating: C. Nese will be fine as a second round villain to be vanquished and that should be enough for him in the whole thing. The health nut/mocking others’ looks is a classic way to draw heat, but Nese needs something else to back it up in the ring. For now though, a win over Cheeseburger is a good way to go for him and should set him up for a better second round match.

#1 Contenders Tournament First Round: Anthony Henry vs. Gravity

Gravity takes him down to start and then does the rapid fire nipups to escape a wristlock. Henry is back up with some forearms only to be sent outside for the big dive over the top. Back in and Henry hits a Death Valley Driver, setting up some shots to the back to keep Gravity down.

Gravity is back up with a dropkick before pulling him into kind of a reverse Koji Clutch. That’s broken up and Henry hits a PK for two, followed by a Razor’s Edge spun into a DDT for the same. Gravity shrugs it off and hits a powerslam into a top rope splash for the pin at 8:00.

Rating: C+. Gravity seems to be Tony Khan’s Flavor of the Week now as he is around on quite a few shows as of late. He’s talented enough and it’s nice to see him getting a win here and there, though I could also see him pulling a miracle run here and winning the tournament. This wasn’t exactly a classic, but as a way to give Gravity a win, it worked well enough.

#1 Contenders Tournament First Round: Shane Taylor vs. Serpentico

Serpentico strikes away to start until a forearm knocks him silly. There’s a big toss to send Serpentico flying and then Taylor does it again. A big clothesline gives Taylor two but Serpentico flips him off. Taylor gets staggered by a kick but a release Rock Bottom puts Serpentico down again. The big splash finishes for Taylor at 4:21.

Rating: C-. Another match without any serious doubt for the winner and that isn’t exactly something that gets my interest up this late into a very, very long show. There was nothing to make me believe that Serpentico was going to win here and it felt like waiting around until Taylor beat on him enough before getting the win.

Trustbusters vs. Dalton Castle/The Boys

Ari Daivari is here with the Trustbusters. A double hiptoss takes Kay down to start so Kiss comes in to choke away in the corner. It’s off to Castle to take Kiss in the corner, where castle gets slapped in the face. They both miss clotheslines until Brent comes in and backflips out of a pair of belly to back suplexes, allowing the hot tag back to Castle. The Boys are thrown outside and onto the Trustbusters (that’s always a cool spot) and the Bang A Rang finishes Kay at 5:19.

Rating: C. I could watch Dalton Castle all day and he looked good here, but I’m not exactly going to get invested in the idea of Castle and the Boys going after the Six Man Tag Team Titles again. I can get the idea of sending the fans home happy with these guys though, as they are about as entertaining of a team as you’re going to get.

Overall Rating: D. Before I’m told that “a bunch of B’s and C’s doesn’t make a D”, that’s not the point of this show. The problem here is that this was not an entertaining wrestling show. It was a bunch of stuff that you get almost every week with the first round of a not exactly interesting tournament added in. Commentary even flat out said something to the effect of “yeah Brian Cage is here A LOT”. See also Athena, Tony Nese, the Workhorsemen and more.

This show was long, not interesting, and felt like it could have come from any point in Ring Of Honor’s history with almost no changes. There were probably three shows crammed into one here for no reason, as the pay per view card shows how little this show means for important shows down the road.

Ring Of Honor’s wrestling is usually pretty solid to good, but the structure, the presentation and everything else is about as bad and boring as you can get in wrestling. I could not stand this show and if not for some talented people on the card, it would have been one of the worst shows that I have seen in a long, long time. Dreadful stuff this week.

Results
Josh Woods b. Eli Isom – Gorilla lock
Trish Adora b. Vita Vonstarr – Lariat Tubman
Mogul Embassy b. Iron Savages/Jacked Jameson – Pedigree to James
Leyla Hirsch b. B3cca – Running knee
Renegades b. Tiana James/JC – Sling Blade hart Attack to James
Athena b. Christina Marie – Right hand
The Kingdom b. Rhett Titus/Tracy Williams – Proton Pack to Titus
Christopher Daniels b. JD Drake – Best Moonsault Ever
Big Bill/Lee Moriarty b. Gabriel Hodder/Adrien Soriano
Tony Nese b. Cheeseburger – Pumphandle driver
Gravity b. Anthony Henry – Top rope splash
Shane Taylor b. Serpentico – Big splash
Dalton Castle/The Boys b. Trustbusters – Bang A Rang to Kay

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

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Ring Of Honor
Date: March 2, 2023
Location: Universal Studios, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

So after a year or so of Ring Of Honor being a major part of AEW, it is time for the company to get its own show. That might mean quite a few things, but there is a good chance that we are going to be seeing a bunch of AEW stars around here. This show could go in a few different ways though so let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Mark Briscoe vs. Slim J

The rest of the Trustbusters are here with Slim J, who kicks away the Code Of Honor before the bell. Redneck Kung Fu sends J outside but a Mark Sterling distraction lets J get in a low blow. Briscoe is fine enough to kick J to the floor, setting up the dropkick through the ropes. It’s too early for the chair assisted dive so Briscoe strikes away back inside.

Another Sterling distraction lets J hit a knee to the face, setting up a reverse DDT for two. Briscoe is busted open as J chokes away in the corner, followed by the chinlock. With that broken up, Briscoe grabs a neckbreaker for two and a powerbomb plants J again. The Froggy Bow misses but Briscoe kicks him in the face and hits the Jay Driller for the pin at 9:00.

Rating: C. So the first thing we see on Ring Of Honor TV is an unpopular AEW faction and the continuation of a lame Briscoe vs. Sterling feud. I know there is no secret to the fact that the promotions are basically the same, but could you at least wait a bit to throw the first AEW regular out there? Having Briscoe out there in the opener made perfect sense though, as he is as much of a symbol of ROH as you can get. It helps that he can have a pretty good match against anyone, but the Sterling feud needs to go far away.

Tony Deppen reads a prepared statement about winning the ROH TV Title from Samoa Joe next week. He can do it with the STF or the chickenwing because he’ll be the star of Ring Of Honor. That’s one way to go.

Kingdom vs. Infantry

The Infantry is Shawn Dean/Carlie Bravo and Maria is here with the Kingdom. Bravo gets taken down to start but he’s right back up for the tag to Dean. A wishbone sends Bennett outside but Taven is in with a dropkick (and catchphrase). The Purple Thunder Bomb and brainbuster get two each on Bravo and it’s back to Taven with a slingshot elbow. Bravo manages to get in a shot of his own though and it’s back to Dean to pick up the pace, including a superkick to Bennett. Taven comes right back in for the save though and it’s the Proton Pack for the pin on Bravo at 4:55.

Rating: C. This was in fact a tag match between an established team and a new team with the established ones winning. It wasn’t a squash but the Kingdom still looked like a dominant team who could do something around here. They were a success in the tag division before so having them do the same thing here wouldn’t be a stretch in any way.

Blake Christian is ready to prove what All Heart means when he takes the New Japan TV Title.

Zack Sabre Jr. reminds us that he is awesome.

New Japan Pro Wrestling Television Title: Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Blake Christian

Christian is challenging and tries to take Sabre down to start as commentary explains the fifteen minute time limit. Sabre cranks on both arms but Christian flips his way out. Back up and Sabre switches to just one arm, with the fingers being bent back as well. Christian flips out with an armdrag though and a dropkick sends Sabre outside. The big flip dive is countered into a cravate (that’s a unique one) and Sabre calls out Bryan Danielson.

Back in and Christian flips out of the cravate before grabbing an Alabama Slam. Sabre cranks on the head again and suplexes him over for a needed breather. They head to the apron where Christian hits a spear, setting up the big dive. Back in and Sabre slaps on a cobra stretch but Christian escapes again and slaps away. Christian has to power out of a Kimura and a low superkick gets two. We have three minutes left as Sabre counters a 450 into something like a triangle choke to retain at 12:29.

Rating: B-. There is something so awesome about watching Sabre doing his thing out there. He knows how to carve someone up and it is a blast to watch him do it no matter what. As for Christian, I’ve seen him a few times now and he feels like a bunch of people I’ve seen elsewhere. Flips, dives, superkicks. You know the drill I’m sure.

Mark Sterling offers to cancel Konosuke Takeshita’s match with Josh Woods because Takeshita isn’t a big enough star. Takeshita rips up the offer instead.

Christopher Daniels says it’s a new Ring Of Honor but he’s still here to do more.

Christopher Daniels vs. Rohit Raju

Jora Juhl is here with Raju. Daniels gets stomped down in the corner to start and Raju chokes away in the corner. Back up and Daniels hits a dropkick into a suplex for two but Juhl breaks it, allowing Raju to send Daniels outside. A double stomp gives Raju two but Daniels suplexes him right back down. It’s too early for the Angel’s Wings so Daniels kicks him down and hits the Best Moonsault Ever for the pin at 5:00.

Rating: C-. This show runs two hours and six minutes, yet we can fit in a five minute match featuring one of the most established Ring Of Honor stars ever? Daniels has been around forever and he is one of the names that the fans are going to know. I’m not sure why this match needed to be there, but it felt like it was mainly to pad out the show with a name the fans will recognize.

Rhett Titus and Tracy Williams want to get back to the top of the mountain.

Konosuke Takeshita vs. Josh Woods

Mark Sterling is here with Woods, who gets driven into the corner to start. Woods wins a grapple off so Takeshita hammers down right hands in the corner. A gutwrench suplex gets Woods out of trouble but Takeshita is back with a running knee. They head to the apron where Takeshita hits a DDT before they head back inside.

Woods blocks a suplex and grabs a twisting superplex for two. Back up and Woods goes for a waistlock but Rolling Chaos Theory is blocked. Instead Takeshita powers him up for a wheelbarrow suplex (which he manages to get on only the second attempt) to put Woods away at 10:20.

Rating: C+. Takeshita seems incapable of having a bad match and Woods can wrestle with just about anyone. That was all the makings needed to have a nice match here and they made it work well. Woods is someone who could be a nice heel hand in the midcard while Takeshita could be well on his way to the title scene around here. Nice mini showcase.

Claudio Castagnoli is ready for the pressure that comes with being the champ.

Embassy vs. Joe Keys/LSG/Rex Lawless

Non-title and Prince Nana is here with the Embassy. Keys and Lawless get beaten up on the floor before the bell so it’s LSG getting caught in the wrong corner. A side slam onto the top turnbuckle plants LSG and Cage hits the apron superplex. The Gates of Agony throw LSG into Cage’s sitout powerbomb for the pin at 2:12. Total dominance.

Ari Daivari vs. Metalik

The rest of the Trustbusters are here with Daivari. They fight over wrist control to start until Daivari makes it to the rope. Metalik walks the ropes to dropkick Daivari outside, where the Trustbusters offer a distraction. Daivari gets in a cheap shot and chokes away, setting up the chinlock.

Metalik fights up again and walks the ropes for a high crossbody to send Daivari outside. There’s the big dive to take Daivari down again and a springboard splash gives Metalik two. Mark Sterling gets up on the apron for a distraction but Slim J clotheslines Daivari by mistake. The VERY delayed two count has Metalik yelling at the ref, meaning Daivari can hit the hammerlock lariat (In Trust We Bust) for the pin at 7:23.

Rating: C. This show is seemingly very heavy on Mark Sterling and the Trustbusters and I have no idea how that could be seen as a good idea. The team was hardly well received in AEW and now they’re getting treated as something important in AEW’s secondary promotion. Metalik’s flying looked good and his time on offense was exciting, but the incredibly generic Daivari wins anyway. Lucky us.

AR Fox talks about trying to get to Ring Of Honor ten years ago. Now he’s in the main event and he’s coming for the title.

Renegades vs. Skye Blue/Madison Rayne

Blue drives Robyn into the corner to start but Robyn does the same to her. Some rollups give Blue two each and it’s off to Rayne for the basement lariat. A basement dropkick gets the same but Blue gets caught in the wrong corner. Blue flips out of a belly to back though and an enziguri allows the tag off to Rayne. Another enziguri into a cutter gets two on Robyn and everything breaks down. Rayne Downward Spirals Charlotte and spears Robyn, leaving Blue to hit Skyfall for the pin at 6:30.

Rating: C. This is about as perfect of an illustration of this show’s problem as there has been so far: these four have all been treated as jobbers on AEW TV for months but now they get their own show. That’s NXT LVL Up, not Ring Of Honor. You can say “well this person competed in Ring Of Honor” all you want. It’s still people who have lost time after time after time on the important shows. Why should I be interested in them getting a win here?

Dalton Castle is here next week.

Here is Wheeler Yuta for a chat. He isn’t a young boy or anything like that and became the Pure Champion by being beaten down by three of the best in the world. The open challenge is issued for next week so here is Timothy Thatcher to accept. Ok that’s an upgrade.

Willow Nightingale vs. Lady Frost

Nightingale starts with some dancing and then runs her over, setting up the basement crossbody. Frost flips over her in the corner though and scores with a kick to the ribs, setting up a running flip neckbreaker. They trade kicks to the face for a double knockdown but Nightingale is back up with a spinebuster for two. Frost kicks her down again and hits a moonsault for two of her own. Nightingale has had enough of this and Doctor Bombs her for the pin at 4:38.

Rating: C. Nightingale’s charisma carried this one as you cannot get annoyed at someone that bubbly. It makes a lot of sense to push her as she could be someone who winds up being a breakout star around here. Frost is someone else who could be a nice hand on the roster and that’s about what she was here, with the unique look helping.

Post match Ian Riccaboni gets in the ring for a chat with Nightingale (after some dancing of course). She talks about her recent success around here and thinks a Women’s Title match is in line. Cue Athena to say sure.

Ring Of Honor World Title: Claudio Castagnoli vs. AR Fox

Castagnoli is defending. Fox spins out of a wristlock to start as the fans are split. A sunset flip out of the corner doesn’t work for Fox and Castagnoli blasts him with a clothesline. Back up and Fox hits a bouncy sitout bulldog out of the corner. Castagnoli is fine enough to catch him on top with a dropkick before breaking up a springboard to make it worse.

Some gutwrench suplexes drop Fox before we hit the half crab. The rope is grabbed so Castagnoli sends him face first into the apron to change things up. Castagnoli forearms him in the back a few times but Fox manages a quick DDT. An enziguri and springboard Stunner out of the corner give Fox two and Castagnoli is sent outside. There’s the big dive to the floor and a Swanton gets two back inside.

Castagnoli kicks him in the face for a near fall of his own and the Swing sends Fox outside. Back in and Fox’s rollup gets two but Castagnoli blasts him with a clothesline. Fox Death Valley Drivers him out of the corner and a 450 gets a very close two. They forearm it out until Fox is sent to the apron, where he springboards into an uppercut to retain the title at 15:37.

Rating: B. Yeah shockingly enough, this was the best part of the show with probably the most talented star in the company getting the most time all night. Fox can make the high flying look about as good as anyone else and he was doing his thing here. It wasn’t about the possibility of a title change here, but rather a wrestling showcase. That worked out very well, and they had a rather good main event.

Post match respect is show….and Eddie Kingston is here, fresh off quitting AEW last night. He’s an independent contractor so he’s coming for the title. There’s your big moment.

Overall Rating: C+. In case I didn’t make it obvious enough throughout, the two main problems are the length and the star power. This was more or less Dark III and at over two hours, the interest wanes fast. The wrestling ranges from completely fine to good, but this could have easily been cut into two or three episodes. I know they have to get ready for Supercard Of Honor in about a month, but two hours of this stuff a week isn’t going to hold interest very long, especially if it is a show you have to pay to see.

It’s not the same as a regular new promotion’s debut show because we do know these people, but that’s kind of the problem. Since we’ve seen so many of these people treated as nothings on Dynamite and Rampage, why should I want to see them have their own show here? There are ways to make this more interesting but they weren’t used here. Not a bad debut by any means, but if this is what Ring Of Honor is going to be, Thursdays are going to be a bit rough.

Results
Mark Briscoe b. Slim J – Jay Driller
Kingdom b. Infantry – Proton Pack to Bravo
Zack Sabre Jr. b. Blake Christian – Leg choke
Christopher Daniels b. Rohit Raju – Best Moonsault Ever
Konosuke Takeshita b. Josh Woods – Wheelbarrow suplex
Embassy b. Joe Keys/LSG/Rex Lawless – Sitout powerbomb to LSG
Ari Daivari b. Metalik – In Trust We Bust
Madison Rayne/Skye Blue b. Renegades – Skyfall to Charlotte
Willow Nightingale b. Lady Frost – Doctor Bomb
Claudio Castagnoli b. AR Fox – Uppercut

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

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Rampage
Date: July 15, 2022
Location: Enmarket Arena, Savannah, Georgia
Commentators: Jim Ross, Taz, Chris Jericho

We’re still in Fyter Fest with the second of four shows in two weeks. I’m not sure what that is going to mean, but we do have a big time Ring Of Honor World Title match as Jonathan Gresham defends against Lee Moriarty. Odds are we’re going to be seeing some kind of a surprise challenger to come out after the match and set up Death Before Dishonor so let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Dark Order vs. House Of Black

Black rolls Reynolds to the mat to start but Reynolds is back up with a wristlock. That doesn’t last long as Black knees him in the ribs to set up a chinlock before it’s off to Brody King. The big chop misses though, meaning John Silver wants to try King out of a slight case of insanity. King runs him over with a shoulder but misses a backsplash. Everything breaks down and the Order gets to clean house, including a double dropkick to send King outside. Reynolds’ dive is countered into a chokeslam onto the apron and we take a break with the House in control.

Back with Black kicking King in the face by mistake so Silver can snap off a belly to back suplex. Everything breaks down again and Silver has to save Reynolds from a powerbomb. A series of strikes to the face knock King into a German suplex, with Black diving in off the top for the save (with a camera angle possibly having to hide the landing). Dante’s Inferno finishes Reynolds at 9:17.

Rating: C+. This is the kind of spot that suits the Dark Order well, as they had no chance of winning but were able to hang in there long enough to make a match out of it. That isn’t something everyone is going to be able to do against the House but they made it work well enough here. Pretty fun match too, with the House getting to crush in the end.

Post match Darby Allin runs out to jump King but Sting has to come out and even things up. Sting and Black have the big staredown.

Miro still wants to destroy the House Of Black.

Ring Of Honor World Title: Jonathan Gresham vs. Lee Moriarty

Gresham, with Tully Blanchard, is defending and Matt Sydal is here with Moriarty. They start fast with Gresham being sent outside off a double leg attempt. Back in and Moriarty strikes away to send Gresham outside again, though this time he follows for some forearms. Gresham gets back inside and they strike away again, with Gresham pulling off some wrist tape. The referee takes care of that, allowing Gresham to hit Moriarty low, because he has gone to the evil side. Some headlock takeovers have Moriarty down again and we take a break.

Back with Moriarty striking away and starting to work on the arm. A dropkick cuts Gresham down and a single underhook bridging suplex gets two. Gresham is right back to the arm with a quick snap, followed by a stomp for two. Moriarty rolls him up for two more but gets pulled into the Octopus for the tap at 10:06.

Rating: B-. This felt oddly short but they did pretty well with the time that they had. What mattered here was getting Moriarty to look like he could hang against someone like Gresham before falling to the better wrestler. Gresham is a beast and when you throw in the cheating, things are that much better. Good match, but the bigger story is coming for Gresham.

Post match Blanchard and Gresham get in the ring, with Gresham bragging about how he is the best in the world. Cue Claudio Castagnoli for the staredown and we might have a Death Before Dishonor main event. That would be the bigger story.

Christopher Daniels is tired of Jay Lethal going after Samoa Joe. Lethal will get choked out at Death Before Dishonor, but Daniels seems interested in doing it herself.

Kris Statlander/Athena vs. Renegades

Statlander and Athena jump them before the bell and the beatdown is on in a hurry. Robyn is put on Statlander’s shoulders and tossed into two top roe knees from Athena (not sure if that was supposed to be a Codebreaker). The bell rings and the O Face (Eclipse) finishes Charlotte at 27 seconds.

Post match Leila Grey runs in to offer a distraction, allowing Kiera Hogan and Jade Cargill to come in and clean house without much effort. You know, if you want Athena and Statlander to be threats to Jade, you might want them to do something other than get beaten up most of the time.

Stokely Hathaway offers his services to Lee Moriarty, but Matt Sydal isn’t having any of this. With Stokely gone, Sydal announces that Moriarty is getting to face Dante Martin next week. Cue Martin, who absolutely had to be in Moriarty’s field of vision, to shake Moriarty’s hand.

Here is the Gunn Club to explain why they turned on the Acclaimed. Billy says everyone, including himself, loves the Acclaimed, but there comes a time when Daddy A** has to drop the hammer. Cue the Acclaimed but they don’t even rap on the way to the ring. Billy says hang on and offers scissoring but gets knocked down, allowing the Acclaimed to clear the ring. The challenge is thrown out but that isn’t going to happen. It had to be done somehow and this was as good of a face turn as you could have.

Andrade El Idolo is ready for Private Party to beat up the Lucha Bros, who don’t seem to agree.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Private Party vs. Lucha Bros

There are a bunch of people at ringside too. Penta and Kassidy start things off with the latter being shoved down without much effort. Everything breaks down in a hurry and the Bros hit superkicks, only to be sent outside for the big flip dives. Back in and the Bros kick Quen down before scaring Kassidy back to the floor. Silly String hits Penta and a springboard Stunner knocks Penta outside as we take a break.

Back with the hot tag bringing in Fenix to clean house, including some chops to Quen in the corner. Kassidy makes a save though and it’s a Doomsday crossbody for two. Fenix gets stomped down in the corner but he gets away for the hot tag to Penta. This doesn’t quite work as a springboard doesn’t work, with Penta slipping down in a nasty crash. Penta is fine enough to hit a Death Valley Driver to send Quen into Kassidy in the corner. The lackeys get in a fight but here is Rush to deck Penta. This has no effect as Penta is back up with the Canadian Destroyer on Quen. Fenix adds the Black Fire Driver for the pin at 11:23.

Rating: C+. It was the kind of match you would expect from these teams, which is to say there were a lot of spots and they moved through them very fast. It wasn’t exactly crisp but Fenix can be one of the most entertaining guys in the world no matter what he is doing. Fun main event here, though Private Party is the same team they were a few years ago: potential, but not much to show for it.

Overall Rating: C+. This is a good example of a show where it was fine throughout and then pretty much nothing that happened here will stick with me for more than a few hours. It came and went with some good enough action, but AEW has a tendency to fly through these shows and not let much sink in. That was the case here, though the Claudio moment was good for a smile.

Results
House Of Black b. Dark Order – Dante’s Inferno to Reynolds
Jonathan Gresham b. Lee Moriarty – Octopus
Athena/Kris Statlander b. Renegades – O Face to Charlotte
Lucha Bros b. Private Party – Black Fire Driver to Quen

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

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

AND

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