Ring of Honor
Date: December 29, 2021
Location: UMBC Event Center, Baltimore, Maryland
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We have finally arrived at what seems to be the last original content episode of the show. That causes some mixed feelings, as it is sad to see the show go but it also finally puts it out of its misery. That should not be the case with any wrestling show, but it has been around here for a long time. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Dalton Castle promises a Christmas surprise.

Quinn McKay gives us the opening welcome and rundown.

Josh Woods gets to draw his names for the Christmas Surprise twelve man tag team main event and seems rather pleased.

Brian Johnson draws his names and is less impressed, as is his custom.

Women’s Title: Holidead vs.Rok-C

Holidead is challenging and says it is time for the dark reign to begin. Rok-C is ready for whatever Holidead brings at her because Holidead doesn’t have heart or the title. She still isn’t great at this talking thing. Rok-C rolls away from her to start before grabbing a headlock. Holidead is back with a headlock takeover of her own, which is reversed in a hurry as well.

Rok-C’s headlock takeover puts Holidead down for a change before Rok-C starts striking away to send Holidead outside. The suicide dive is pulled out of the air though and Holidead posts her to send us to a break. Back with Holidead putting her in a fireman’s carry for some head first rams into the buckles.

Rok-C comes back with a Thesz press and right hands, followed by the Rok Knees for two. A swinging Downward Spiral gives Holidead the same but Rok-C is back with a Backstabber. The running knee to the face gets two on Holidead, who cuts her off with a spinebuster for a near fall of her own. Back up and Rok-C grabs a quick Code Rok to retain at 13:30.

Rating: C. Assuming this is the last time we see a match like this on Ring of Honor TV, it’s a perfectly fine way to wrap up the women’s division: a technically sound yet lifeless match as two women did moves to each other until one of them won. The women’s division never caught on and always felt like the most serious part of the show. It wasn’t awful, but it also wasn’t interesting and that made it a chore to watch at times.

Dalton Castle still has a surprise for us.

Post break, Castle seems to start a song and dance number with the Baby Chickens but one of them breaks something, sending Dak Draper into a rage.

Team Johnson vs. Team Woods

Brian Johnson, Rhett Titus, Kenny King, Rey Horus, Homicide, Flip Gordon
Josh Woods, Silas Young, Matt Taven, Bandido, Jay Briscoe, Mark Briscoe

Everyone gets their own entrance, complete with rather personalized Christmas wish lists for their graphics, such as:

Never to see Danhausen again – Johnson
Shane Taylor’s head on a platter – King
Timbaland Boots so I could kick my opponents’ heads off – Homicide
Get my memory back – Gordon
The internet to like me – Taven
Jet pack – Mark Briscoe
Lug wrench – Jay Briscoe

Johnson gets his big BAH HUMBUG entrance because he can’t stand any of his partners. Homicide drives Jay into the corner to start as we get some Ring of Honor history lessons from commentary. The lockup takes them over to the ropes so Woods can tag himself in. The rear naked choke has Homicide in trouble so he bites his way to freedom. They slug it out until Homicide yells at him and bails into the corner. Titus comes in and takes it to the mat with Woods, which doesn’t seem to be the best move. Woods counters a short armscissors in a hurry and we take a break.

Back with Taven dropkicking Gordon but getting taken down by a headscissors. Bandido comes in to face Gordon, with the latter walking on his hands. That’s fine with Bandido, who has an open shot for a superkick. Horus comes in and everyone drops off the apron because they know this is going to be good. They run the ropes but neither can go anywhere, with guest commentator Quinn McKay complimenting their hair. King and Mark come in with the latter taking him down by the leg.

Back up and some Red Neck Kung Fu staggers King, who hands it off to Titus instead. We get a Briscoes vs. King/Titus (the former All Night Express) showdown for another old times sake faceoff as everything breaks down. We take another break and come back with Horus forearming Castle and avoiding a charge into the corner. Horus hits a big dive onto Young as Gordon is watching from the commentary desk. Thankfully he comes back to his senses and dives onto a bunch of people in the aisle.

Back in and Homicide escapes Taven’s Climax but gets kneed in the face for two. Gordon Kinder Surprises Taven off the top, leaving Bandido to hit the X Knee on Horus. Back up and Horus hits a heck of a tornado DDT to plant Bandido but it’s time for the parade of finishers. Johnson rolls Mark up with tights for two so Mark strikes away against the ropes. The Cutthroat Driver sets up the Doomsday Device to finish Johnson at 20:45.

Rating: B. This is all it should have been as they didn’t try to have much of a match outside of everyone going nuts and having fun out there. That’s all you need to do in a situation like this, because not only is this a special, but it’s probably the last match from the original era. It was a lot of fun and it worked very well, especially with the Briscoes getting the win, as should be how things go out.

Everyone hugs and the Briscoes are lifted onto some shoulders as commentary talks about how this is pretty much it to wrap it up.

Overall Rating: B-. And that’s it, which makes me rather sad. Ring of Honor is still the most influential promotion of this generation but it ends in front of no fans with a show that means nothing. The show itself was pretty good, but this was all about the farewell, which seems to be a whimper rather than any kind of grand finale. I’m not sure what is next for Ring of Honor, but I’m almost scared to see what follows this under the same name.

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Ring Of Honor
Date: December 8, 2021
Location: 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

It’s the go home show for Final Battle, which I’ve already watched, though I don’t think it matters since the company is more or less done in three weeks. In other words, the best they can do around here is hope for the action to be good, which has been the case for a long time now. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Quinn McKay gives us the welcome and the rundown.

Willow Nightingale vs. Mandy Leon

The winner gets the Women’s Title shot at Final Battle so Women’s Champion Rok-C is on commentary. Mandy talks about how she is one of the building blocks of the division and this is the Allure’s house. On the other hand, Willow is rather bubbly and doesn’t mind the odds being against her because you can’t stop the sun from shining. Willow grabs a front facelock to start and switches to a headlock as we hear about Mandy’s greatness.

Back up and Mandy hammers away in the corner but Willow cartwheels her way to freedom. Something like an STF has Mandy in trouble so she bails to the floor. Willow follows and gets suplexed so we take a break. Back with Mandy scoring with a missile dropkick and stomping away in the corner. The chinlock goes on for a bit until Mandy drives in some elbows for two. Willow reverses into something like a Koji Clutch but Mandy rolls out. Some clotheslines and a spinebuster drops Mandy again.

A Death Valley Driver gives Willow two more but Mandy powers out of a powerbomb. Willow kicks her away though and hits a Cannonball in the corner, only to miss a splash. Astral Projection plants Willow for a delayed two so Angelina Love grabs a chair. Cue Quinn McKay to grab it back, drawing out the rest of the women’s division to turn it into a big tug of war. Max the Impaler comes out and takes the chair away from Angelina, who she then throws at various other women. Back in and Willow hits a superkick into a gutwrench powerbomb for the pin and the title shot at 11:30.

Rating: C. I’ve seen a few Willow matches now and she has something to her that is going to get your attention. That charisma is there and it makes you care about what she’s doing. I doubt she wins the title, but it’s nice to have someone stand out a bit in the division. You know just what you’re getting with Leon and Love, and that’s what you saw here.

Post match, we get a big hug because….does it matter at this point?

Post break, the very excitable Willow hugs Brian Zane and promises to be a threat to Rok-C at Final Battle.

Video on Brian Johnson, who really loves Philadelphia. He’ll win the Pure Title at Final Battle.

We see some clips of Chris Dickinson beating Tyler Rust.

Final Battle rundown. Some of this didn’t happen.

The Briscoes are happy with what Ring of Honor has done for them.

Bandido vs. PJ Black

Non-title and Black has Flip Gordon, who he hypnotized before the match, in his corner. Bandido, with Rey Horus in his corner, goes with the grappling to start but can’t get very far. An armdrag into an armbar doesn’t last long either so they trade shoulders to little avail. They trade some legsweeps into another standoff but Bandido gets sent outside in a heap.

Back in and Black stomps away before throwing Bandido right back to the floor. Black holds Bandido for some shots from Gordon….but he says that’s not honorable. Then Black claps at him, which accidentally breaks the hypnosis so Gordon will hit him for the DQ at 6:04. Horus dives onto them and let’s do the tag thing.

Rating: C. This felt like the start of a good match and that’s kind of what they were going for here. It wasn’t a great match and I could go for more of these two. It’s nice to see Bandido in the ring as he really can do a lot of great things, while Black is good for a solid performance against just about anyone.

Rey Horus/Bandido vs. PJ Black/Flip Gordon

Horus, still in his jacket, starts with Gordon, who takes him down with a Sling Blade. Black comes in and blocks a tornado DDT, allowing Gordon to come in with a top rope elbow. The Kinder Surprise gets two on Horus and we take a break. Back with Horus hitting a heck of a tornado DDT, allowing the tag off to Bandido. Everything breaks down and Bandido gorilla presses Gordon over the top onto Black.

Back in and Bandido hits a frog splash for two as it’s Gordon getting double teamed for a change. Black is up again though and it’s a powerbomb/Blockbuster neckbreaker for two. Since that’s not enough, Black busts out a Doomsday Destroyer for two more. Bandido comes in to break up the 450 with a super Spanish Fly, setting up the 21plex for the pin on Black at 6:33.

Rating: B-. When all else fails, go the Teddy Long route. It’s a good, high flying match with the teams hitting a bunch of big spots in a short amount of time, which is a heck of a way to wrap up a TV show. I liked this one, as there were some talented people in there and they used the time that they had well.

A video on Bandido vs. Jonathan Gresham and the Final Battle rundown wraps us up.

Overall Rating: C+. I remember Dalton Castle talking about how this taping didn’t feel important and that’s kind of how it came off. Yeah there is some stuff built for Final Battle, but when commentary is talking about how it’s the end of an era every chance they get, it’s a little hard to care that much. As usual, completely watchable action, but you can feel the spirit of the place missing.

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Final Battle 2021
Date: December 11, 2021
Location: UMBC Events Center, Baltimore, Maryland
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

It’s the end of an era and quite possibly the end of a company, or at least the end of the company as we know it to be. Ring of Honor is going into hiatus after this show for about four months, leaving a pretty big cloud over their future. I’m not sure what that is going to mean, but hopefully they can have a great show on their way out. Let’s get to it.

Pre-Show: Six Man Tag Team Titles: Righteous vs. Shane Taylor Promotions

Promotions (Moses/Kaun/O’Shay Edwards, with Ron Hunt) are defending. Dutch and Moses fight over wrist control to start, which isn’t something you often see between hosses. Moses gets flipped into the corner, which is even more rare, so he knocks Dutch outside in a hurry. Everything breaks down in a hurry (you knew that was coming) and the three way brawl is on until it’s Vincent suplexing Kaun.

That doesn’t work for Kaun, who is back up with a running elbow to the face. Moses comes back in and gets caught with a Side Effect as commentary shouts out to Kyle O’Reilly and the Hardys. It’s off to Edwards, who gets a rather nice reaction as he beats on Bateman. Vincent tries his luck but can’t knock Edwards over the top. Instead he throws Edwards through the ropes as everything breaks down again.

Vita VonStarr gets on the apron for a distraction but Moses knocks her onto the pile and flip dives onto them. Not to be outdone, Dutch hits a BIG flip dive over the top onto everyone else. VonStarr hits a dive of her own, leaving Vincent to Redrum Kaun for two back inside. The elevated DDT plants Bateman and Edwards drops a good looking moonsault for two more, with the bell ringing by mistake. Edwards plants Dutch but walks into Orange Sunshine to give Vincent the pin and the titles at 10:42.

Rating: C+. That was a pretty wild six man tag to start and that’s often the best way to get the fans going. One of the cool things about tonight is that the title changes don’t mean anything, so we could be in for a bunch of title changes. Not exactly a classic, but it was fun and a good choice for an opener.

Pre-Show: Miranda Alize/Allure vs. Chelsea Green/The Hex

Allure is Mandy Leon/Angelina Love and the Hex is Allysin Kay/Marti Belle. Miranda kicks Belle in the head for a fast two but Marti is back with a running kick to the face of her own. Kay comes in and the threat of a powerbomb sends Alize over for the fast tag to Leon. Green gets her chance and rolls Leon up for two of her own so Leon dropkicks her down for two. A suplex into the corner gets another near fall on Green and there’s a running basement dropkick from Alize.

The villains take turns hitting some running splashes in the corner on Green, setting up Love’s Complete Shot for two more. Green fights out of the corner though and it’s a double missile dropkick for a much needed breather. The hot tag brings in Kay to clean house until Belle grabs Hex Marks The Spot for two more. Everything breaks down, including the parade of secondary finishers, capped off by Green hitting a huge dive onto the pile. Marti’s dive is cut off though and Mandy hits Astral Projection for the pin at 6:52.

Rating: C-. Kind of a messy match here and it’s a bit of an eye roll to see Leon get the pin on the last show. She has been one of the focal points of the women’s division for a long time now and has more or less stopped developing since the Allure deal started. The match wasn’t bad and had some good spots, but less than seven minutes for six women is a lot to cover in such a short amount of time.

Pre-Show: PJ Black/Flip Gordon/Bouncers/World Famous CB vs. LSG/Sledge/Max The Impaler/Demonic Flamita/Will Ferrara

Ferrara and CB trade wristlocks to start and the exchange of not being able to get an advantage gives us a standoff. Gordon and Flamita come in to trade clotheslines and armdrags for another standoff, which has commentary and the crowd equally pleased. LSG comes in and hits the Rocket Bye Baby for two on Black so it’s Milonas coming in for the showdown with Max.

That’s good for a cheap shot from Milonas so Bruiser can have a quick slugout. Max hands it off to Sledge for a slightly more fair slugout and it’s time for people to start coming in sans tags and hit each other in the face. Max hammers on Milonas and unloads on him in the corner, setting up a spear.

Bruiser pulls Max outside and takes her down and it’s time to set up the series of dives. Flamita teases a dive but opts to flip off the fans instead, leaving Bruiser to…not hit a powerbomb actually. Instead Flamita slips out and hits a superkick, setting up a big corkscrew dive to the floor. Back in and Gordon cutters LSG out of the air, setting up a Doomsday Canadian Destroyer to give Black the pin at 10:22.

Rating: C+. I can go with a match where there is nothing to suggest that it is anything more than a big mess. They weren’t trying anything else here and that’s how it should have gone. Let these ten people get on there and go nuts for a little while, which is a good way to go on the pre-show. Sometimes you need some insanity and that’s what you got here, so well done.

The opening video talks about the meaning of honor, even when you are looking into a future of nothing. It is the end of an era, but it is not the end of honor.

Dragon Lee vs. Rey Horus

They hug to start and fight over a lockup, setting up some rope running minus the contact. Horus can’t get a sunset flip so he rolls to the floor, where Lee hits a heck of a dive. Lee throws him over the barricade, allowing Lee to have a seat at ringside. Back in and Lee spinebusters Horus into a half crab, with Horus going straight to the rope.

The running knees in the corner are broken up by Horus’ raised boot though, with Lee bailing to the floor. Now it’s Horus hitting the big flip dive to take Lee down for a change, setting up the overhead belly to belly into the corner back inside. Lee is back up with a pair of tilt-a-whirl backbreakers to set up another half crab to put Horus back in trouble. It’s time to slug it out, including an exchange of kicks to the face.

A Spanish Fly plants Horus but Lee can’t follow up so it’s a double breather. Horus crotches him on top and it’s a super victory roll for a close two. Now it’s Horus going up but slipping, allowing Lee to get his knees up to block the splash. Lee rolls into a Falcon Arrow for two on Horus and the Incinerator gets a very close two. Another Incinerator finishes Horus at 11:19.

Rating: B-. This was the kind of all action match that you would expect from these two and it was an entertaining match as a result. These two have been excellent for a long time now and one of the better series that you’ll see. I’m glad they got a chance to tear it up again and it was a fun way for both of them to get on the card, while opening the show.

Former Ring of Honor Triple Crown Champion Eddie Edwards thanks Ring of Honor for the chance and for changing the business.

TV Title: Dalton Castle vs. Rhett Titus vs. Joe Hendry vs. Silas Young

Castle is defending and it’s one fall to a finish, with Castle bailing to the floor to walk into the crowd. Hendry (who is looking jacked compared to his old days) gets taken outside so Young can send him into the barricade. Back in and Castle t-bone suplexes Young, meaning it’s time for a lap around the ring. Titus comes in for a quick rollup but gets sent outside for an apron flip dive from Young.

Hendry blasts Titus with a clothesline but gets belly to belly suplexed into the corner. Castle is back in with the Bang A Rang to Titus, who reverses into a cradle for two. Titus sends Young outside but Hendry pulls Titus’ high crossbody out of the air, because he’s strong enough to do that.

A double fall away slam sends Young and Titus flying so it’s Castle coming back in with a big smile on his face. It’s Titus coming back in and getting planted by a heck of a Hendry powerbomb. There’s the Bang A Rang to plant Titus but Hendry belts Castle in the face. Cue Castle’s friend Dak Draper to take Hendry down though, leaving Titus to avoid Young’s moonsault. The dropkick gives Titus the pin and the title at 8:51.

Rating: C. They kept this fast and that’s probably the better idea. It was another one of those wild matches that was only there to be as exciting as possible and that is often better than letting things go long. Titus winning the title after trying for so long is a feel good moment and I liked what we got here. Granted that might have been Castle and his Dancing Chickens.

Hangman Page is going to miss Ring of Honor.

Pure Rules Title: Brian Johnson vs. Josh Woods

Pure Rules (of course) and Woods is defending. As usual, Johnson runs his mouth before the bell, talking about how it doesn’t matter if you’re a Punk, an American Dragon or a Peacock, because Johnson is better than you. Woods scares him into the ropes and Johnson has used his first break in about thirty seconds. The second break is used up less than a minute and ten seconds in but Johnson sends him into the corner for a chop.

That earns him a hard knee to the ribs though, allowing Woods to grab a choke over the ropes. Johnson Stuns his way to freedom and hits a heck of a dive to the floor (which doesn’t feel very Pure). Back in and Johnson has to break another choke, setting up some knee drops. A running splash sets up Spike Deskin (I think? It’s a hanging cutter to the floor.) and Woods is rocked.

They get back inside to fight over a suplex, with Woods finally taking him over the top for a double crash. The slugout on the floor almost gives us a double countout but they head back inside to slug it out there instead. Woods grabs another choke and Johnson has to use his third rope break.

A cheap shot lets Johnson hit the Process for two so he grabs the title. The referee takes that away so Johnson takes the turnbuckle pad off, only to get caught in a German suplex for two. Since the referee has to put the pad back on, Johnson gets a brass knuckles shot for two more. With nothing else working, Johnson puts him on top but gets caught in a choke. Since there are no rope breaks, Johnson has to tap at 12:58 to retain Woods’ title.

Rating: B-. The Pure Rules division has become a major focal point in the last year or so and it is great to see it getting this kind of a focus again on the last show. Woods is kind of perfect for the division and he deserves to be on this show in this spot. I could go for more of Johnson’s trash talk though, as it has made him a lot more memorable than anything he does in the ring.

Jimmy Jacobs loved his time in Ring of Honor. He certainly is a legend around here.

We recap Kenny King vs. Shane Taylor. They were friends, then King turned on him, meaning it’s time for a Fight Without Honor.

Kenny King vs. Shane Taylor

Fight Without Honor, meaning anything goes and weapons are provided. Riccaboni makes it more serious by talking about how these two are fighting to get their next paycheck elsewhere. A quick slugout takes things outside, with Shane sending him hard into the barricade a few times. The chair shot only hits post but Shane is fine enough to hit a backdrop on the floor.

Back in and King hits an enziguri but Shane hits him in the face over and over. Shane takes him up top, earning himself a super Blockbuster through a pair of tables at ringside. It’s already time for the required kendo sticks (you knew they were coming), with King cracking him over the back and choking away. King takes his sweet time bringing in a trashcan and charges into a Rock Bottom out of the corner onto said can.

Now it’s Taylor getting in his own stick shots, with Riccaboni rapid firing off some Cleveland Indians names. A heck of a splash puts King through another table at ringside so we need another table. Back in and King manages to drive him through the table in the corner for two in an impressive power display. Shane is right back up with the BIG ladder, but takes a bit too long and gets hit in the back with a kendo stick.

King gets in a few more shots and manages to build a rather ridiculous structure, with one ladder bridged between two more. Taylor is laid across the bridged ladder for a splash from the big one, which doesn’t look as impressive as it should. Taylor is right back up with Greetings From The Land for two of his own so King bridges a ladder between the apron and the barricade.

They stand on said ladder and slug it out until Taylor grabs the Marcus Garvey Driver….but the ladder slips, so King gets dropped HARD onto the floor. Well that was terrifying, and of course gets two back inside. Taylor grabs a chair so King tells him to “f****** do it”, meaning it’s a chair to the head. The Marcus Garvey Driver finishes for Shane at 18:01.

Rating: C-. I really couldn’t get into this one as it was longer than it needed to be and a lot of the spots felt rather contrived. You can only get so far with a match like this, with so many weapons set up in the right spots to make such a match work. Throw in that terrifying crash on the floor and this wasn’t exactly the most fun to watch.

Post match, the rest of Shane Taylor Promotions and some other wrestlers get in the ring as Taylor and King make up.

CM Punk talks about his time in Ring of Honor and how special it was. It was a spirit that he loved and he will continue to foster it in AEW.

Rok-C is ready to defend the Women’s Title against Willow Nightingale.

Women’s Title: Willow Nightingale vs. Rok-C

Rok-C is defending but gets taken down to start, allowing Willow to bust out a cartwheel. Willow blocks the running knees but Rok-C manages to snap off a running headscissors. Back up and Willow can’t quite hit Three Amigos, so she plants Rok-C for two instead. This time Rok-C fights up with a Russian legsweep but Willow plants her for two more. A Pounce rocks Rok-C, sending commentary into various Monty Brown impressions and Rok-C down for another near fall.

The fans are split here, but the Willow chants are a bit louder. The Code Rok is countered into a belly to back kneeling piledriver to give Willow two more. Willow still can’t hit her moonsault as Rok-C jumps her from behind, setting up a heck of a powerbomb for two on Willow for a change. Back up and Willow catches her on top, setting up a superplex. Now the moonsault can connect for two but Rok-C is right back with the Code Rok to retain at 9:42.

Rating: C. The match was fast paced but Willow absolutely came off like a bigger star here and I would have thought about changing the title. Rok-C is a young star but she doesn’t exactly have anything to her besides being young and talented. Willow might not be the next big thing, but she stood out way more than Rok-C.

Post match here is Deonna Purrazzo to challenge Rok-C for a title for title (AAA Reina de Reinas/Impact Knockouts whenever she gets it back vs. Ring of Honor) match. Rok-C is in.

Adam Cole loved his time in Ring of Honor because it is why he became the wrestler he is today.

Violence Unlimited/Rocky Romero vs. EC3/Eli Isom/Taylor Rust/Tracy Williams

Romero and Williams go technical to start (as you probably expected them to do) until Williams misses a charge into the corner. The Forever Clotheslines are countered into a kneebar, sending Rocky straight to the ropes. Tony Deppen and Taylor Rust come in, with Rust running him over in a hurry. It’s already back to Williams, who gets to Crossface Homicide (in the same jumpsuit he wore on the first Ring of Honor show in a great bonus) for a change.

With that broken up, EC3 comes in to lose a strike off with Homicide. Brody King gets to come in and t-bone suplex EC3, only to get forearmed by the blindly tagged Isom. The choking doesn’t do Isom much good as King takes him down for a heavy backsplash, allowing the Violent ones to take turns on Isom. That doesn’t last long as it’s back to EC3 as everything breaks down in a hurry. Isom hits a bit dive but King’s is broken up by Rust and Williams hitting Total Elimination.

Back up and King is fine enough to hit a dive anyway but everyone runs over everyone else anyway. Homicide busts out his fork to stab EC3 but King is back in to MuscleBust Isom. We hit the parade of tribute finishers, including a Brian Kendrick Sliced Bread and a Jerry Lynn piledriver. Cattle Mutilation is broken up though and Isom hits Deppen with a Helluva Kick. Homicide and Isom slug it out until the Cop Killer gives Homicide two. Homicide freaks out so King comes back in, only to miss a clothesline as Isom collapses. The Ganso Bomb finishes Isom at 14:43.

Rating: C+. The tributes sequence might have been a little corny but it’s the kind of thing that should be taking place on this show. The fact that it came from one of the old school stars around here made it better and I was smiling at some of those tributes. You don’t get to see something like that very often and it worked well here, though I could have gone for Isom FINALLY getting that big win.

Post match Violence Unlimited poses before leaving. That means EC3 can rant about how there is no honor in what they do because of three letter organizations. WHERE ARE OUR LEADERS??? Dak Draper and Brian Johnson are mentioned so they hit the ring, with EC3 telling them to control their narrative.

Cue Wesley Blake (from WWE/NXT) and someone else in the aisle as EC3 keeps going on about being free and controlling your narrative. EC3 says free the Titan….and here is Adam Scherr (Braun Strowman) to wreck Isom.. EC3 says this is an awakening as I try to figure out why they are bringing in an expensive wrestler for an invasion angle on a final show. Throw in that Strowman in ROH feels rather wrong and this is even weirder. Also the Control Your Narrative stuff continues to fail miserably as I still couldn’t tell you what the heck EC3 means.

The Young Bucks love ROH.

Tag Team Titles: Briscoes vs. OGK

OGK, with Maria Kanellis-Bennett, is defending. Mark powers Taven into the corner to start so Bennett comes in for the slugout. Taven is back in with a middle rope dropkick to put Mark down and the champs clear the ring in a hurry. Taven’s Flight of the Conqueror only hits Bennett though, allowing Mark to grab a chair. That means a big dive to take out both champs and it’s Taven in trouble back inside.

Bennett makes the save with an elbow to Jay for two as commentary even thanks Jim Cornette for his time around here. The tag brings Mark back in for Redneck Kung Fu, plus Redneck Boogie for two. Jay (already bleeding) can’t hit the Jay Driller as Bennett saves Taven and chops away. Bennett hangs Jay over the apron so Taven can hit a heck of a top rope splash for two back inside.

Taven Climaxes Mark but can’t cover, sending Maria into a half lap around the ring. The Briscoes send them outside for the big dives, setting up the Blockbuster off the apron to drop Bennett again. Back in and the Froggy Bow gets two on Taven, with Maria pulling the referee out. Maria gets dropped but it’s a Flight of the Conqueror Doomsday Device (dang) to drop Mark on the floor, setting up another near fall.

Hail Mary gets the same with Jay having to make the save. A quick Jay Driller sends Bennett rolling back to the floor but Taven hits Just The Tip on Jay. The top rope splash hits knees though and the Jay Driller gets two. The Doomsday Device gets the same as commentary is SCREAMING at these near falls. Another Jay Driller into the Froggy Bow gives the Briscoes the titles back at 15:36.

Rating: B. I know it’s a bit overdone but there is absolutely no one who should be the final ROH Tag Team Champions. The Briscoes are so far and away the greatest team in the company’s history that you could probably cut their careers in half and still have them at the top of the list. Heck of a match too, and that’s what you would have expected from these teams.

Post match respect is shown, with Jay thanking all of the fans. The Briscoes aren’t done and are ready to face any team in the world…so there go the lights. Back up and AEW’s FTR of all people are here for the big brawl. Referees break it up and a lot of swearing ensues. FTR holds up the titles and the next fight has to be broken up.

Bryan Danielson says he wouldn’t he be here without Ring of Honor, especially Final Battle. He thanks the fans for making the shows and hopes that Ring of Honor will stick around.

We get a cool look at all of the Ring of Honor World Champions.

Ring of Honor World Title: Jonathan Gresham vs. Jay Lethal

For the vacant title, as Bandido is out with Coronavirus. The fans are rather happy with this one as they trade wristlocks to start with no one getting anywhere. A headlock takeover doesn’t do much for Lethal either as they’re certainly starting technical. Gresham manages to send him outside and catches Lethal with a kick in the arm on the way back in. A headlock takeover with an armtrap keeps Lethal down but Lethal cartwheels into the basement dropkick to get a breather.

Lethal slams him down to work over the back a bit more but Gresham small packages him for two. A slap to the face drops Gresham and a flapjack does it again. It’s too early for the Lethal Injection and the Figure Four, as Gresham rolls him up for two more. Another kick to the arm cuts Lethal back down and Gresham needs a breather. They chop it out with Lethal getting the better of things but telling Gresham to chop him again.

A ripcord powerslam plants Gresham again but he catches Lethal on top. What looked to be a superplex is broken up so Lethal tries Hail to the King. Lethal is ready for Gresham’s raised knees but can’t get the Figure Four either. Instead it’s a reverse Regal Roll to set up Hail to the King to give Lethal two more.

Gresham is right back on the arm and grabs a crossface chickenwing. Lethal flips forward for a cutter and they’re both down again. That means it’s time for the locker room to come out and watch as Gresham hits some running forearms for two each. The arm gives out and Gresham hits another forearm for two. The Lethal Injection is countered into a rollup for two, setting up the Octopus to make Lethal tap at 15:35.

Rating: B. Gresham absolutely had to win here as that is the story that has been set up for months. I can imagine that this would have been the ending whether Bandido had been around or not and that is the right way to go. Gresham has been the workhorse of the company since its return and going with the Pure Rules wrestler as the final shot at the final show is a smart move.

The celebration is on, including Gresham’s wife, Jordynne Grace, getting in the ring. Commentary thanks the fans, with Coleman saying “see you in April” to end the night.

Overall Rating: B. This might not have been a great show, but it was something more important: it felt special. The show felt like it was a bunch of people saying goodbye to a company that meant a lot and that absolutely should have been the case. The good thing here is that there was no truly bad match (though some came close) and it felt like a fun way to go out rather than something dull and dry. It was nice to see something be more about the fans and the company’s legacy, which is how things should have gone. The last two matches are worth seeing and that’s not bad on a three hour show.

No matter what its fate may be, Ring of Honor is one of the most influential companies in modern wrestling history. You can see it style (and a lot of its wrestlers) everywhere from PWG to Impact to AEW to WWE and the style is even more prevalent. This place has meant a heck of a lot to the wrestling world and it is going to be sad to see Ring of Honor go away. I’m glad it went out on a pretty good show too, with the big ending and tributes making it all the sweeter.

Results
Righteous b. Shane Taylor Promotions – Orange Sunshine to Edwards
Allure/Miranda Alize b. Chelsea Green/The Hex – Astral Projection to Belle
PJ Black/Flip Gordon/Bouncers/World Famous CB b. LSG/Sledge/Max The Impaler/Demonic Flamita/Will Ferrara – Doomsday Canadian Destroyer to LSG
Dragon Lee b. Rey Horus – Incinerator
Rhett Titus b. Silas Young, Joe Hendry and Dalton Castle – Dropkick to Young
Josh Woods b. Brian Johnson – Choke
Shane Taylor b. Kenny King – Marcus Garvey Driver
Rok-C b. Willow Nightingale – Code Rok
Violence Unlimited/Rocky Romero b. EC3/Eli Isom/Tracy Williams/Taylor Rust – Ganso Bomb to Isom
Briscoes b. OGK – Froggy Bow to Taven
Jonathan Gresham b. Jay Lethal – Octopus

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Ring Of Honor
Date: November 3, 2021
Location: 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

It’s time for the Halloween edition, which did air on time in some of the markets so this isn’t that far out of place. I have no idea what to expect around here now that everything has changed, but that kind of fits how Ring of Honor has worked for years. I could go for some more of what they have been doing so this is kind of appropriate. Let’s get to it.

Click on the link below for the full review.

Opening sequence.

Quinn McKay gives us the welcome. She also gets to draw the names for the Trick Or Treat match…but we only hear EC3, with the rest of the picks in fast forward. Moderately intriguing, save for EC3 that is. She has her own match this week and needs a replacement, but it needs to be ANYONE but Brian Johnson.

Delirious runs down the card. Let’s say it’s a bit more nuanced.

Commentary is in costumes as well, with Ian as a Teletubby, Coleman as Don Cornelius from Soul Train and Maria Kanellis-Bennett as…a woman in a dress?

Max The Impaler/Miranda Alize vs. Rok-C/Quinn McKay

Amy Rose is here with Max. Rok-C doesn’t think much of Miranda but Quinn insists that neither are left alone with the monster that is Max. Alize swats away Rok-C’s offer of a handshake and Rok-C isn’t happy. McKay comes in to take it to the mat with Alize and we take an early break.

Back with Alize cranking on Rok-C’s arms as we get the always appreciated/quick recap of what happened during the break. That’s broken up in a hurry and it’s back to McKay, who cuts off the tag attempt and hits a powerslam. Alize gets over for the tag off to Max anyway though and it’s time to wreck people. With Rok-C and McKay down, Alize is willing to come back in, where McKay rolls her up for two. Max suplexes McKay and Rok-C at the same time and then plants McKay again. Alize comes in to steal the pin at 6:37.

Rating: C-. They went with a rather basic and simple match here, though it would have been nice to not see McKay lose again. That being said, it’s better than having Rok-C take a pin and it makes sense to push Max as the unstoppable monster. Not the best match, but it is something that made sense.

Demonic Flamita/O’Shay Edwards vs. Silas Young/Rey Horus vs. World Famous CB/EC3 vs. Flip Gordon/Matt Taven

This is under Lucha Rules and the winners get $10,000. This is something I can get behind: a match where it feels like the drawing was actually random, as it makes things more fun. CB and Young go technical to start, with CB managing an armdrag to take over to start. Some rollups give them two each and it’s a standoff, with Young looking impressed. Flamita and Horus come in, with Flamita running him over and dropping an elbow to the back.

Horus jumps onto Flamita’s shoulders and spins around into a headscissors out to the floor. That means Gordon can come in and strike away at Horus, whose running hurricanrana doesn’t quite work. EC3 comes in and gets a handshake from Flip, who he already knows. Gordon stops to pose at Taven and gets punched down by EC3. It’s off to Taven, who gets taken over by a headlock takeover. Back up and a dropkick puts EC3 on the floor and we take a break.

We come back with Edwards blocking Taven’s Climax and getting caught in a bearhug. Flamita comes in with a running kick to the face for two as Horus comes in. We get a quick Mexisquad reunion, which lasts all of ten seconds before Flamita jumps Horus. Gordon comes in but can’t hit the Kinder Surprise on Horus.

It’s off to EC3, who does have his Kinder Surprised as everything breaks down. We wind up with Flamita vs. EC3 for a rather odd pairing. The fireman’s carry spun onto the knee drops Flamita and Taven hits Edwards with the Flight of the Conqueror. Horus flip dives onto CB and Taven, setting up Gordon’s big running flip dive. Back in and Horus hits a 450 on CB but Young comes in and steals the pin at 11:41.

Rating: C+. This was fun and that’s all it needed to be. Throw a bunch of people out there and let them have an energetic match which didn’t mean anything. It didn’t matter who won, but rather having a good time in a different kind of match. This worked out rather well and the flipping/diving helped as usual.

Six Man Tag Team Titles: Danhausen/PCO/Sledge vs. Shane Taylor Promotions

Danhausen and company are challenging and Danhausen thinks this is a good team to help him gain money and power. Khan and a scared looking Danhausen start things off, with Khan sending him flying. Moses comes in and actually gets taken down for a second, allowing Danhausen to hit a basement dropkick. Danhausen actually wants Shane, who isn’t having any of this being Irish whipped thing.

The chokeslam attempt just annoys Shane so he punches Danhausen in the face. Sledge comes in for the slugout with Shane instead, with Shane knocking him down as we take a break. Back with Sledge hitting a slingshot spear on Shane, allowing the hot tag to PCO to clean house. The referee gets bumped so PCO rips off a turnbuckle pad and sends Shane into the steel. Hold on though as PCO malfunctions again and falls outside.

That’s enough for Shane to take over on PCO, who comes out of the corner with a clothesline to Moses. The hot tag brings in Sledge, though Danhausen doesn’t seem pleased. Danhausen tags himself in and hits a running boot on Shane but gets run over by Khan. Everything breaks down and PCO gets knocked outside, setting up the assisted DDT to Danhausen. The Marcus Garvey Driver retains the titles at 8:33.

Rating: C. How could you not have Danhausen in this spot on a Halloween show? The Six Man Tag Team Titles don’t have much use around here, but they do a nice job of filling in a spot like this. The show needed a somewhat special main event so let Shane Taylor Promotions beat up someone smaller like Danhausen while having to deal with the bigger monsters. It was completely acceptable, with Danhausen continuing to be one of the most entertaining things about Ring of Honor today.

Post match Sledge jumps PCO and the brawl is on to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. I had fun and that’s exactly what they were shooting for with this show. Sometimes you need to just relax and have a good time, which is what they were trying to do here. The wrestling was fine enough and they had a lot of people on the show doing some different things. Nice job, as it’s good to enjoy this place while you can.

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Ring of Honor
Date: October 13, 2021
Location: 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Jay Briscoe, Mark Briscoe

It’s time to start the build towards Final Battle and I’m not sure what that is going to mean. Ring of Honor has a weird fascination with waiting as long as they can to announce a card and I’m not sure how much we’re going to be getting before this show. That being said, this show has been pretty great lately so let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Here’s what’s coming tonight.

Soldiers of Savagery vs. Dalton Castle/Dak Draper

The Soldiers are ready to hurt people while Castle and Draper, with the Baby Chickens, promise to show how good they are. Castle wrestles Khan down to start and we actually get a clean break. The technical stuff doesn’t work for Khan so he shoulders Castle down with straight power. That works for Castle, who suplexes him down and hands it off to Draper, who gets caught by the arm. Moses comes in and knees Draper in the ribs so Khan can hit a running basement clothesline. It’s already back to Castle to run the Soldiers over and we take a break.

Back with Draper gutwrenching Khan and handing him off to Castle for the suplex in a nice power display. Hold on though as Castle needs to take a lap on the floor with the Baby Chickens, as tends to be his case. Draper gutwrench tosses Khan around, allowing Castle to grab the camera for a chat. Khan gets over to Moses for the hot tag though and it’s time to slug away. A backdrop puts Castle on the floor and Moses runs Draper over. Everything breaks down and it’s the elevated double DDT to finish Draper at 9:16.

Rating: C+. Draper is someone who could go somewhere with a little more tinkering, as his size and look will be good enough to get him somewhere. Castle is an established name and the Soldiers are your big monsters who can hurt people. They had an easy idea here and it worked well, so it was pretty much a layup that connected just fine.

Post match Kenny King and Dragon Lee come in to beat down the Soldiers, complete with a selfie. Moses gets up though and issues the challenge for the Tag Team Titles, complete with a promise for some complimentary body bags.

Willow vs. Miranda Alize vs. Angelina Love

The winner goes on to a #1 contenders match for a future Women’s Title match. Willow thinks this is like a Christmas present, Alize doesn’t know why she has to be in this match and Love brags about how awesome she is. Willow gets double teamed to start but fights her way to freedom, only to get knocked back into the corner. Both of them hit running splashes in the corner to crush Willow and we take a break.

Back with Willow fighting both of them off but getting sent to the floor for a crash. Love uses the distraction to grab a Code of Silence on Alize until Willow comes back in for the save. Willow sends them both outside for the split legged dropkick off the apron. That’s good for two on Alize back inside but she sends Willow back to the floor for a double suicide dive. Love comes back in and Botox Injections Alize to the floor, allowing Willow to grab a rollup pin at 8:32.

Rating: C. The action was slightly better than usual, but I’m still not exactly familiar with Willow or Alize. Love not being involved in the fall makes enough sense as she is the veteran star, but you’re only going to get so much out of something like this. The division needs to develop a lot more, and this is only slightly better than the tournament matches.

OGK vs. Rey Horus/Bandido

Both teams are fired up here. Horus and Bennett get things going with Horus working on the arm. Bennett manages to pull him down into a crucifix for a near fall though and things reset a bit. Bandido and Taven come in with Bennett dropkicking Bandido to the mat and us to a break. Back with Bandido charging into a superkick from Taven for a spear from Bennett, setting up a brainbuster for two.

It’s time to start working on Bandido’s leg with Taven crunching it and Bennett cranking away. An enziguri into the Purple Thunder Bomb gets two on Bandido and we hit the chinlock. Bennett hits a spinebuster but Taven misses a Lionsault, allowing the hot tag off to Horus. Everything breaks down and Bennett goes shoulder first into the post. The Spanish Fly plants Bennett and we take a break with OGK in trouble.

Back with Bandido limping but being fine enough to sweep Taven’s leg and hit a running shooting star press for two. Bennett makes the save though and the Hail Mary gets two on Bandido. Horus and Bennett get up for the big slugout but everyone hits something to another jaw for the four way knockdown. Back up and Taven hits Bandido with the Flight of the Conqueror but Bennett has to break up Horus’ Octopus. The Backpack Stunner/running kick to the face finishes Horus at 12:07.

Rating: B-. This was a pair of good teams having a nice match with some time. OGK winning makes sense as they didn’t pin the champ and still looked like they were in trouble throughout. Solid main event here, and that’s how it should have been for a one off match like this one.

Overall Rating: C+. We seem to be in the post pay per view stretch, meaning things have not quite reset just yet. Then again with no fans it can be kind of hard to tell, as Ring of Honor tends to have one stand alone show after another. That was the case again here, but at least this show was pretty good (again). Just….get fans back already. It really shouldn’t be that hard at this point, right?

Results
Soldiers of Savagery b. Dalton Castle/Dak Draper – Elevated double DDT to Draper
Willow b. Angelina Love and Miranda Alize – Rollup to Love
OGK b. Bandido/Rey Horus – Backpack Stunner/running boot to the face combination to Horus

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Ring of Honor
Date: September 15, 2021
Location: UMBC Event Center, Baltimore, Maryland
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

It’s Death Before Dishonor weekend and that is a heck of a show. It’s such a heck of a show that Ring of Honor has barely spoken about the card so far outside of a few matches here or there. That is typical of Ring of Honor, but it has not exactly made things that much better over the years. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Quinn McKay gives us her usual welcome and rundown.

Briscoes vs. Bandido/Rey Horus

This could be good. Honor is shown before the match as we hear about the Briscoes’ history of troubles against luchadors. Bandido and Jay circle each other to start with Jay fireman’s carrying him to the mat for an armbar. That’s broken up and Bandido shows Jay the finger gun and starts flipping around to send us to a standoff/break.

We come back with Mark bringing Jay back in to elbow Rey in the face. A trip to the outside goes badly for the luchadors but Bandido comes back in with a springboard high crossbody to the Briscoes. Rey’s basement dropkick into a running shooting star press gives Bandido two on Mark but Jay is back in to run Bandido over. Mark kicks Bandido in the mask for two and then plants him down for a bonus. Bandido gets away for the tag to Horus though and the pace picks up.

A double chop into a double superkick gives Horus two with Jay having to make the save. Everything breaks down and we get a four way knockdown for a quadruple breather. Mark grabs an Iconoclasm for two on Horus but gets caught with a pop up cutter from Bandido. A Fosbury Flop takes Jay down and Horus flips Mark off the top for two. Back up and Jay sends Bandido outside, leaving Horus to get Doomsday Deviced for the pin at 12:10.

Rating: B-. Take two teams and let them get in there for a fun match. That’s what you should be doing on a show like this and they made it work here. If nothing else, it is nice to see the Briscoes finally getting somewhere against some luchadors. The match itself was a good power vs. speed match and it was a rather nice TV outing all around.

Will Ferrara vs. Josh Woods

Pure Rules with Jonathan Gresham on commentary. Woods powers him down into the corner to start and we’re already on the mat for the grappling. Ferrara reverses into a wristlock but gets tossed hard across the corner for the break. Back up and another armbar has Woods down, or at least it does until he reverses into a kneebar to send Ferrara to the rope.

We take a break and come back with Ferrara being gutwrench suplexed around without much effort. Ferrara tries a short armscissors until Woods uses the only counter ever to a short armscissors. Woods goes after him again, sending Ferrara over to the ropes for the third and final rope break. That’s enough for Woods, who grabs rolling Chaos Theory out of the corner for the pin at 6:19.

Rating: C. This was quick and to the point, which is probably better for a situation like this one. What mattered here was making Woods feel like a star and they made that work very well. I’m not sure how much longer Jonathan Gresham can hold the Pure Rules Title and it would make sense to finally change the titles at the pay per view. Good and mostly dominant match here, meaning they know what they’re going for at the moment.

Post match, Woods and Gresham have the big staredown in the aisle.

Video on Rok-C vs. Miranda Alize for the vacant Women’s Title.

Tag Team Titles: La Faccion Ingobernables vs. Violence Unlimited

Kenny King and Dragon Lee are challenging Homicide and Chris Dickinson. Both teams promise to win here and it’s King vs. Homicide to start. King shoulders him down and snaps off some armdrags into an armbar. It works so well that King does the same thing again but Homicide gets up and brings in Dickinson.

We take a break and come back with Dickinson suplexing Lee for two. A camel clutch into a basement dropkick rocks Lee again but he is fine enough to send Homicide outside. The baseball slide misses though and the champs beat both of them down without much trouble. Back in and Lee clotheslines Homicide with King coming in to do the same. Lee’s Boston crab with a boot on Homicide’s head keeps him down as the violence is starting to emerge.

King grabs a chinlock with a knee in the back but misses a splash in the corner. Homicide misses a top rope splash but King misses a springboard legdrop, allowing the tag off to Dickinson to clean house. A Death Valley Driver gets two on Lee, with Dickinson having to kick King in the face. Everything breaks down again and a dragon suplex gives King two on Homicide.

Lee is back up with the Alberto Double Stomp to Homicide and a suicide dive onto Dickinson. Back in and the Royal Flush gives King two on Dickinson, setting up a slingshot corkscrew dive onto Homicide on the floor. That leaves Lee and Dickinson to forearm it out until Dickinson twists the knee. The knee is fine enough to go smashing into Dickinson’s head for the pin and the titles at 14:08.

Rating: C+. Good match here, though it’s a bit of an odd title change right around the time you have the pay per view coming up. The problem here though is the fact that these stable wars are just a bunch of interchangeable matches and moments like this one. It was fine enough, but how much of an impact are these matches and even title changes having?

The Death Before Dishonor rundown wraps us up.

Overall Rating: C+. It’s hard to call a show with a title change skippable, but that’s how this felt. There was nothing on here that you really needed to see, as the Briscoes winning a good tag match is hardly noteworthy. It also didn’t do much for Death Before Dishonor, though I’d be curious to know how much of the card was set/announced when this show was filmed.

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Ring of Honor
Date: August 25, 2021
Location: UMBC Event Center, Baltimore, Maryland
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

It’s another step closer to Death Before Dishonor and that means the card needs to be set. Ring of Honor has a tendency to take their sweet time with some of these things and that can be frustrating, but odds are this week’s show will continue focusing on the Women’s Title tournament. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

We open with a recap of last week’s pretty good Champions vs. All Stars match.

Ian Riccaboni runs down the card, featuring two Women’s Title tournament quarterfinal matches.

Quinn McKay and Rok-C get into it over a matter of respect.

Women’s Title Tournament Quarterfinals: Quinn McKay vs. Rok-C

They shake hands to start and lock up to go technical early on. Rok-C grabs a bridging hammerlock but gets reversed with a hammerlock into a headlock. That’s reversed into a headlock from Rok-C, which is broken up as well and it’s another standoff. A knee to the ribs gives Rok-C two but McKay scores with some running shoulders to put Rok-C down. McKay powers her to the mat with a test of strength for some near falls but Rok-C runs the corner for an armdrag.

We take a break and come back with McKay holding her knee and the referee checking on her. Rok-C elbows her in the corner and an elbow drop gets two. McKay’s quick Tangerine Dream attempt doesn’t work and Rok-C is back with a Thesz press and some right hands to the face. A neckbreaker gives McKay two and she pulls Rok-C out of the air for a spinebuster. They fight over a backslide until McKay’s knee gives out, allowing Rok-C to grab a Code Red for the pin at 10:17.

Rating: C. And that’s Ring of Honor’s women’s division summed up in a single match: They have ONE STORY that is interesting in the whole tournament and now McKay is out in the first round. Rok-C is the more polished wrestler and it makes sense from a skill standpoint, but the entire women’s division has been built around McKay and the Allure. If they think Angelina Love is the big star of a women’s division in 2021, I have no idea why they’re going for. This was taking away the thing they have focused on more than anything else since the division came back.

Women’s Title Tournament Quarterfinals: Miranda Alize vs. Nicole Savoy

Alize says she’ll win and Savoy says they’re friends and ex-roommates but she’s giving it all she can. They go to the mat to start with Savoy’s kneebar attempt sending Alize to the ropes. A top wristlock takes Alize down again so she bites the finger to escape. They trade rollups for two each as they’re somehow in a fast paced first gear. Alize sends her out to the apron and hits a dropkick to the floor, where Savoy grabs a suplex.

We take a break and come back with Alize getting two off a basement dropkick but Savoy grabs a fall away slam. That means we can look at commentary for a bit before coming back to Alize hammering away to win the slugout. Savoy doesn’t seem to mind and rolls some butterfly suplexes for two. Alize snaps on a Crossface, which is quickly escaped, setting up a Michinoku Driver to give Savoy two. They take their time getting up until Savoy dives into a superkick. Alize gets her own two off a DDT and the Drive By finishes Savoy at 13:04.

Rating: C+. Pretty good back and forth match here with Alize’s striking against Savoy’s suplexing. Alize has some good charisma and has been one of the brighter spots in the tournament so far. Savoy is a bigger name and has a reputation from her independent career, but Alize came off as the star here and should have moved on.

The Bouncers and Ken Dixon are ready to take over like never before. Dixon seems to be a bit of a third wheel but all they care about is winning.

Demonic Flamita vs. Rey Horus

No DQ. Flamita promises to bury him and Horus promises to show he is better. They go right to the chop off to start and Horus grabs a sunset flip for two. Flamita takes him down though and grabs a chair, which is kicked into his face. Horus’ dive is knocked out of the air with a chair shot though and Flamita sends him hard into the barricade. There’s a face first drop onto the chair on the apron and a table is set up at ringside.

Back in and Flamita grabs a suplex for two before striking down a comeback attempt. Horus is sent face first into a chair in the corner but he’s fine enough to pelt the chair at Flamita’s head. A big dive takes out Flamita as we go to a break. Back with Horus posting him hard and blasting him with a few chair shots. There’s a high crossbody for two back inside but Flamita nails a superkick into a butterfly backbreaker.

Horus is right back with a running tornado DDT, which has commentary questioning gravity. They head to the apron for the chop off and then to the top….where Flamita hits a super Spanish Fly through the table for the crazy spot of the match. Somehow that only gets two so it’s a Phoenix splash to finish Horus at 12:08. Not much of a need for the splash after the big spot just a few seconds earlier.

Rating: B-. They beat each other up rather well and, if you ignore the rather unnecessary kickout at the end, it was a heck of a fight. It’s a good way to build up Flamita for a possible match with Bandido and that should help both of them out quite a bit. Good main event here, which felt like a pretty definitive Flamita victory.

Overall Rating: B-. This was a pretty well balanced show with two tournament matches and the grudge match main event. I’m still not feeling the tournament and the McKay loss took away a lot of the interest, but the main event made up for enough. The worst of the three matches was certainly fine enough, but it would be nice to get some of the big stuff set up for Death Before Dishonor.

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Ring of Honor
Date: August 11, 2021
Location: UMBC Event Center, Baltimore, Maryland
Commentators: Caprice Coleman, Ian Riccaboni

We are still firmly in middle of the Women’s Title tournament, which dominated last week’s show. That meant a kind of hit or miss collection of matches, as you can only get so far with a bunch of wrestlers we haven’t seen before having short matches. While it wasn’t bad, it was lacking some interest, which hopefully is here this time. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

We look at Allysin Kay defeating Willow to advance on the non-televised show.

Quinn McKay says she has come up short time after time and that is because of the Allure. Now it is her last shot and it is guaranteed to be one on one. Now she is getting her chance to thank the fans by beating Mandy Leon.

Mandy Leon thinks this is rigged because McKay has lost her two matches but is in the tournament anyway. Why is McKay here with one of the founding mothers of the division? No worries as she’ll take McKay out.

Women’s Title Tournament First Round: Quinn McKay vs. Mandy Leon

Rematch from a few weeks ago when Leon needed Angelina Love’s help to beat McKay. A spear cuts Mandy down at the bell but it’s too early for the Tangerine Dream. Mandy needs a breather on the floor but McKay follows her out to keep up the brawl. Back in and Mandy gets in a shot to the face though, allowing her to stomp away in the corner. A butterfly suplex gives Mandy two and we take a break.

We come back with a Hennig necksnap giving Mandy another two. Some forearms to the back in the corner allow for even more trash talk, setting up a running Unprettier for two more. The frustration is setting in and McKay avoids a charge in the corner, allowing a neckbreaker to connect for two. A powerslam sets up most of the Tangerine Dream but Mandy is out with a Backpack Stunner. Mandy’s Astral Projection is loaded up but McKay reverses into a cradle for the upset pin at 7:12.

Rating: C. This was the only way this match could wind up going and they got it right. McKay going on a serious run throughout the entire tournament would not be a surprise and I could go for seeing her do just that. Odds are the Allure messes with her again at some point and it wouldn’t be shocking to see them cost her. For now though, this worked well.

Commentary goes nuts at the upset and McKay runs over to celebrate with them.

Marti Belle got into wrestling because it was a little bit of everything she wanted to do. Trisha Adora wants to show you what she can do and is a military veteran. They have both been through adversity and Adora is fighting for her mother, who has cancer.

Women’s Title Tournament First Round: Marti Belle vs. Trish Adora

They go with the grappling to start as Adora spins out of an early wristlock. That doesn’t last long so they’re back up for another standoff. Belle headlocks her down as we hear about Adora being a chess aficionado. Back up and Belle blocks the Lariat Tubman (ok then) with an ax handle to the arm and we take an early break.

We come back with Belle’s running knee getting two and Adora’s arm being wrapped around the rope. A running knee gets a delayed two on Adora but she fights back with forearms to the head. Adora gets in a kick to the arm and a judo throw sets up some hard kicks. That’s enough for Adora, who grabs the Cattle Mutilation for the tap at 7:13.

Rating: C. Another perfectly fine match here without much that is going to stick with me. It helps a bit to have Belle as a more familiar face, though it is still not exactly great. The match wasn’t bad but it also wasn’t quite memorable, making this the most “there” match that I have seen in a little while now.

We look back at Bandido winning the World Title at Best in the World.

Brody King/Chris Dickinson vs. Rey Horus/Bandido

King and Dickinson are ready to hurt people. The luchadors try chopping away at the bell and are taken straight into the corner to start the choking. Dickinson takes Horus down into a Crossface to start and then chops him down again. King comes in to run Horus over and the neck crank goes on.

We take a break and come back with the stomping continuing in the corner as Horus stays in trouble. Horus finally manages to get away and the hot tag brings in Bandido to start cleaning house. King gets dropkicked down and there’s a heck of a gorilla press to Dickinson. The big Fosbury Flop to the floor takes out King and Dickinson and it’s some running clotheslines on Dickinson back inside.

Horus gets knocked outside though and King grabs the Boston crab. Horus’ dropkicks don’t break it up and he gets pulled down into the Crossface from Dickinson. Both are broken up and Dickinson brainbusters Bandido for two. Back up and the 21 Plex is countered, only to have Bandido drop Dickinson with it for the pin at 10:49.

Rating: C+. Bandido feels like the World Champion and it was a good match, though the ending came a bit out of nowhere and it didn’t really get the time to be built up. What matters here is getting Bandido a win to keep him moving forward as champion, as it might be a while before he has his first major title defense.

Post match the rest of La Faccion Ingobernable runs in to go after Bandido, with Rush ripping off the mask. Violence Unlimited comes in for the brawl to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. This was a pretty flat show, as the tournament is only so interesting and the rest of the show wasn’t anything great. That is the regular trouble with tournaments, as they have a tendency to overshadow everything else and take away so much of the focus. It’s still perfectly watchable, but don’t expect much to change until we get to the finals.

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Ring of Honor
Date: July 21, 2021
Location: UMBC Event Center, Baltimore, Maryland
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We continue the post Best In The World stretch and for once I’m actually caught up on the show. I’m not sure if we are going to be in the actual fallout period just yet, but it is nice to have the pay per view out of the way. This show could go in a lot of directions and that is not a bad thing. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Dalton Castle doesn’t have time for an interview and leaves. After he is gone, the Foundation is ready for tonight’s eight man tag. Actually hold on a second though, as Jonathan Gresham has a banged up knee. Joe Keys, who is helping look at Gresham’s knee, gets the spot instead. Not quite thinking, Keys slaps the bad knee on the way out.

Brian Johnson is our host this week because Quinn McKay is in action. He begrudgingly runs down the card (while mocking the Foundation and Gresham as much as possible). Johnson doesn’t like Quinn McKay either, though he does think something of Mandy Leon.

Rey Horus vs. Fred Yehi

Horus goes for the hammerlock to start but Yehi pulls the leg to take him down into a standoff. Back up and Horus misses a dropkick, allowing Yehi to try the Koji Clutch, sending Horus bailing. Horus: “It’s too early for that.” We take a break and come back with Yehi missing a charge into the corner, allowing Horus to grab a middle rope armdrag to send Yehi outside. The big dive drops Yehi again in a spot that needed fans. Back in and Horus hits a high crossbody for two, followed by a spinning clothesline.

Yehi small packages him for two, with Horus’ shoulder WAY off the mat at around one. Horus sends him into the corner though and a twisting splash (Yehi: “Oh shoot!”) gets two. Yehi’s boot to the ribs is cut off so he twists Horus’ head for a pretty unique counter. A spinning backfist into a shot to the back of the head sets up the Koji Clutch to make Horus….get over to a rope. Yehi t-bone suplexes him into the corner but Horus runs the corner into a super victory roll for the pin at 9:53.

Rating: B-. These two had some good chemistry and I was having a good time with what they did. Horus can move as well as anyone and Yehi is right there with the technical stuff to balance it out. This is one of the areas where Ring of Honor shines: putting two people in a match and letting them have a bit of time to showcase themselves. Nice stuff here and I liked it more than I would have bet on.

Mandy Leon gets off the phone for an interview. She can’t believe that she has to talk about Quinn McKay, because Mandy is a grown woman who doesn’t need friendships or validation. That makes her different than McKay, who is always trying to prove that she is a good person. McKay talked about the Allure for year and then lost her chance to beat Angelina Love. That’s enough on McKay, and here is Love to agree.

Quinn McKay blames her loss to Angelina Love on inexperience and Mandy Leon. This is her last chance to make it into the Women’s Title tournament and she is tired of being told she will never be a wrestler. Yeah she has been an interviewer for two years, but she and Mandy Leon both started in the Ring of Honor Dojo. They were both backstage interviewers and they both lost their first match, just like McKay. But Leon won’t mention that, because she would rather be Love’s lapdog.

That’s the narrative Leon wants to spin but McKay knows what is under the hair and malice. Leon has a fighting spirit and they have both fought hard to be respected. McKay sees her as a glimmer of what she could be, and this is about who Leon is now vs. who she could be. Come back to the good side and give McKay a fair shot. This was a pretty emotional promo and McKay made it work far better than I would have expected. Not bad.

Mandy Leon vs. Quinn McKay

Angelina Love is with Leon, McKay is in the title tournament if she wins and Maria Kanellis-Bennett is on commentary. McKay actually offers a handshake, using the Genius left hand version. Leon punches her in the face though and knocks her down, allowing Leon to grab a mic and talk down to her a bit. A clothesline gives McKay a breather though and Leon is knocked out to the apron. That earns McKay another shot to the face though and choking on the ropes ensues.

McKay sweeps the legs though and hammers away, setting up a bodyscissors of all things. That’s reversed in a bit of an awkward sequence until Leon counters a neckbreaker. Some hair takedowns send us to a break with McKay in trouble again. Back with McKay being sent to the apron, with Love pulling her out to the floor. Mandy snaps off a running knee to the floor before elbowing her in the face back inside. McKay manages a powerslam but can’t cover so Love gives Leon a quick back rub.

A running seated Blockbuster sets up a trio of neckbreakers for two on Leon as McKay certainly has a target. With that not working, McKay grabs the Tangerine Dream (cobra clutch), drawing Love up for a distraction. That means the referee doesn’t see the tap, which means McKay lets go to yell at said referee. Love slips in the brass knuckles and McKay lifts Leon up for a belly to back suplex, only to get knocked cold for the pin at 7:44.

Rating: C-. The women’s division still isn’t all that great but McKay is someone you could see as a plucky underdog face for a good while. She might not be the future, but at least can be a star for a little while. I don’t believe for a second that this is the end of her chances at being in the tournament, as Ring of Honor seems to be a lot smarter than that.

Maria thinks she should do something about this.

Shane Taylor Promotions vs. Foundation/Joe Keys

This would be Shane Taylor/Soldiers of Savagery/O’Shay Edwards vs. Jay Lethal/Tracy Williams/Rhett Titus/Joe Keys. Before the match, Shane Taylor Promotions says the baddest just got better with Edwards joining up. On the other hand, Keys says he’s ready to step up and show the Foundation what he can do. Edwards takes Keys into the ropes to start and adds a running splash in the corner. Another charge misses though and Keys gets in a few shots to the leg.

A backdrop sends Keys to the apron but he manages a high crossbody for a fast two. Taylor comes in for a high crossbody and tells the Foundation to get their rookie out of here. We take a break and come back with Taylor shoving Lethal, who says he is so sick of Taylor’s mouth. A knee sends Lethal into the corner and Taylor’s eyes are rather scary. Williams comes in to slug it out with Moses, who wants some more.

That’s fine with Williams, who can’t get very far by charging at the monster. A cross armbreaker over the ropes works a bit better, with Williams letting go at four. Titus comes in for an atomic drop/running clothesline combination and it’s off to Lethal. Khan makes a save and gets shoved by Lethal, which has Coleman’s attention. Another Khan distraction lets Moses run Lethal over and it’s time for elbows in the corner.

It’s back to Taylor to hammer on Lethal, who comes back with some forearms. One HARD shot sends Lethal outside though and this time Coleman is singing about how bad that was. We take another break and come back again with Khan having to cut off a hot tag attempt. The Lethal Combination allows the hot tag to Titus, meaning house can be cleaned. Edwards gets belly to belly suplexed into the corner and a top rope knee drop gets two on Moses.

Keys comes back in and manages a heck of a German suplex to plant Moses for two more. Everything breaks down with the Foundation being sent outside, leaving Keys on his own. Keys manages to send Moses outside and tries to fight the other three, only to be taken down by a headbutt. Titus and Williams make the save and clothesline Taylor to the floor. Khan takes a double butterfly suplex (that’s a new one) and Lethal dives onto Moses. Keys dropkicks Taylor down but gets caught in Edwards’ Sky High for the pin at 16:54.

Rating: B. This was another one that was better than I was expecting as both sides worked out well. Keys was a nice surprise and held up well in a cameo role. At the same time, this was a great mini showcase for Edwards, who I’m very glad is finally getting a chance like this. Rather fun main event here and I’m glad to see Shane and pals get a big win.

Overall Rating: B. I’m not sure when it happened, but Ring of Honor might have become the best weekly wrestling show, at least for in-ring action. They still don’t have much in the way of storyline advancement most weeks, but the matches themselves are mostly good. They’re coming off a strong pay per view as well and the fans are going to make it even better. Nice job here, again.

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

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

It really is cool to see some fans back.

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

Pre-Show: Demonic Flaimta vs. Rey Horus

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

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

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

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

Bouncers vs. PCO/Danhausen

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

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

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

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

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

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

PJ Black/Brian Johnson vs. Briscoe Brothers

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

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

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

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

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

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

EC3 vs. Flip Gordon

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Silas Young vs. Josh Woods

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

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

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

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

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

From the trainer’s room, Taven accepts.

Brody King vs. Jay Lethal

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

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

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

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

Pure Rules Title: Mike Bennett vs. Jonathan Gresham

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

TV Title: Tony Deppen vs. Dragon Lee

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

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

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

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

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

Tag Team Titles: Foundation vs. Violence Unlimited

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

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

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

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

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

Sumie Sakai
Rok-C

Mandy Leon
Vita VonStarr

Max
Holidead

Angelina Love
BYE

Alize
Gracia

Mazzerati
Nicole Savoy

Allysin Kay
Willow

Marti Belle
Adora

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

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

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

Ring of Honor World Title: Rush vs. Bandido

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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