Ring of Honor
Date: November 24, 2021
Location: 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We’re rapidly approaching Final Battle and the final battles of note from the promotion. That doesn’t exactly make things feel that important around here and I’m not sure what that is going to mean going forward. At least the action should be good and that’s about all we can ask for around here. 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.

Brian Johnson vs. John Walters

Pure Rules. Johnson runs his mouth about how awesome he is and how he you spell Pure M-E-C-C-A. They go with the grappling to start until Walters nips out of a headscissors to send us to a break. Back with Johnson hitting a shoulder to the ribs in the corner but getting armdragged into an armbar. It works so well that Walters does it again, with Johnson not being able to monkey flip his way to freedom.

Johnson tries to escape but gets pulled back over the top by the barred arm. Walters gets caught on top though and a hanging cutter brings him back down for two. Some knees to the back set up a quickly broken cobra clutch but Johnson kicks him in the head to cut off a comeback. We take another break and come back again with Johnson dropping a fist, which counts as the first closed fist. Johnson doesn’t seem to mind but Walters is back up with a middle rope legdrop on the arm.

Something like an abdominal stretch on the mat forces Johnson to use his first rope break and they trade rollups for two each. Walters grabs a Sharpshooter, meaning that’s the second rope break from Johnson. Another Sharpshooter attempt burns the last rope break but Johnson gets in a shot to the eye. Johnson kicks out Walters’ knee, sending him face first into Johnson’s knee (that’s a new one), setting up Trust The Process to finish Walters at 11:30.

Rating: C+. The knee thing at the end was more than enough to make this work and I was surprised by how they got to the finish. Other than that, this was a nice back and forth match with Johnson being so annoying with the trash talking that you want to see him lose at the end. Beating Walters still feels like a big enough deal so good choice for an opener here.

Post match Johnson makes the still out of it Walters shake his hand.

Mandy Leon vs. Trish Adora vs. Allysin Kay

The winner moves on to a #1 contenders match for the Women’s Title shot at Final Battle. Angelina Love and Marti Belle are here with Leon and Kay respectively. Leon bails to the floor to start so the other two trade wristlocks inside. Kay’s headlock takes her to the mat but it’s broken up in a hurry. Neither can get a takeover until Adora hits a belly to back for two.

Now Leon comes back in and sends Adora into Kay as we take a break. Back with Leon getting caught in a double submission, which is broken up so Kay and Adora can slug it out. Kay takes Adora up top for a superplex but Leon turns it into a Tower of Doom for the big crash. That means a pair of near falls each so Leon throws Adora outside. Astral Projection is enough to finish Kay at 6:58.

Rating: C-. Leon winning wasn’t exactly a surprise as it was the structure of two women doing their thing while Leon was there too, followed by the win. The women’s division still has a long way to go and while there is talent here, there is only so much that you can get out of a match like this. You could have gone with any of these three, but Leon was kind of telegraphed here.

Dalton Castle is ready to bring pizzazz to the TV Title. He also compares himself to Picasso and Jackson Pollock.

TV Title: Dalton Castle vs. Dragon Lee

Castle, with the Baby Chickens, is challenging and Lee’s entrance is cut out for some reason. They go with the grappling to start as neither can get very far on the mat. It’s way too early for the Bang A Rang so Lee sends him outside, leaving Lee to hit the Tranquilo pose. Castle is sent back first into the barricade so Lee is back in with a Falcon Arrow for two. Back up and Castle takes him outside for a whip over the barricade for a crash. They come back in with Castle grabbing a waistlock as we take a break.

We come back with Castle kicking Lee in the face and standing on his chest. Lee fights that off in a hurry and hits the running corner dropkick. Castle blasts him with a clothesline for two of his own and they’re on the floor again. Lee sends him over the barricade and loads up the dive but has to dive onto the Chickens instead.

Back in and a clothesline gets two on Lee instead but here are Shane Taylor Promotions and La Faccion Ingobernable to brawl. The Bang A Rang is countered into a cradle for two on Castle and Lee hits the running knee. Cue Dak Draper though and a cheap shot sets up the Bang A Rang to give Castle the pin and the title at 11:34.

Rating: C+. Now that was an actual surprise and that is the kind of thing that can often be good. What mattered here was they made me care about the ending as Castle’s comeback trail is an interesting story and now he has some gold to validate a lot of what he has been saying. The fact that it came via cheating makes it even better for him and now we get to move forward to…well not much actually but at least Castle won here.

Video on EC3 vs. Jay Lethal, which is up next week.

Overall Rating: B-. I really do like this show most of the time but there is only so much reason to care when Final Battle is wrapping up almost everything of note in less than a month. This is a great case of enjoying it while it lasts and having almost no pressure, which is not a bad situation to have. Now just keep up some good TV on the way to the end and we should be in for some rather fun times.

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Ring of Honor
Date: November 17, 2021
Location: 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Silas Young

The long march to Final Battle continues as we are still in the post-Death Before Dishonor TV tapings. In other words, these are still matches from before all of the company’s future went away, so there might still be a little something here. Then again, I’m not sure how much hope that really is. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Quinn McKay welcomes us to the show and gives us the rundown.

Caprice Coleman vs. Beer City Bruiser

This is Coleman’s first singles match in a long time and Bruiser has Brian Milonas and Ken Dixon with him. Before the match, Bruiser says Coleman wasn’t an official entrant in the Honor Rumble so he was never eliminated and should be #1 contender. Coleman comes to the ring and Bruiser laughs at the idea of Coleman getting back in the ring….so he can face Dixon instead.

Caprice Coleman vs. Ken Dixon

Dixon is in jeans and the Bouncers are at ringside. Feeling out process to start as they go to the mat with Dixon not being able to get very far. We take a break and come back with Coleman hitting a basement shoulder, setting up a legdrop for two. Milonas offers a distraction so Bruiser can add a clothesline to give Dixon control for a change.

A fall away slam gives Dixon two and we hit the chinlock. Backup and the clothesline comeback is on but Father Time (cobra clutch Russian legsweep) is broken up. Dixon sends him outside but Coleman flips backwards into a headscissors to drop Dixon on the floor. Back in and Father Time sets up the cobra clutch but the Bruiser comes in for the DQ at 8:01.

Rating: C. Coleman getting back in the ring is somewhat interesting, but it’s not like he was the biggest star in Ring of Honor history. The good thing is that he can still get in the ring and look just fine, which was the case here. Odds are he can get in a big match with Bruiser down the line, which should work well for a TV main event.

We recap Flip Gordon losing his memory and taking potions to get his memory back. If ANY of this has been mentioned on TV since it happened, I haven’t been paying close enough attention.

PJ Black is taking care of Gordon’s memory troubles.

PJ Black/Flip Gordon vs. OGK

Taven and Gordon start things off as Gordon doesn’t seem impressed. Gordon grabs a headlock but Taven talks his way out of it, allowing the tag to Black. OGK gets together for a double dropkick but Black grabs a wristlock. A tag (with the foot) brings in Gordon, who has to be told to come in off the top to work on the arm. Back from a break with Gordon and Bennett trading chops but Black breaks up a spike piledriver attempt. Black comes back in for a springboard moonsault into a double reverse layout DDT.

Bennett’s spear gives Taven two and a running kick to the face gives Bennett two of his own. A backbreaker/top rope elbow combination gives Taven two more and Bennett’s brainbuster gets the same. Black is fine enough to roll over for the hot tag off to Gordon, who springboards in to take OGK down. House is cleaned but Gordon has to bail out of the 450. Instead, he puts Taven on his shoulders for a Doomsday Canadian Destroyer but Bennett makes the save. Black gets sent outside though and it’s a spike piledriver to finish Gordon at 9:43.

Rating: C+. The match was good, though this Gordon thing is straight out of nowhere, at least on this show. It’s also not exactly like Ring of Honor, which rarely does the wacky stipulations like this one. OGK continues their roll though and it’s great to see a good team like them getting their chance to shine.

Honor For All rundown.

Righteous vs. Foundation

Vincent/Bateman/Dutch vs. Jonathan Gresham/Tracy Williams/Rhett Titus. Vincent and Titus start but Gresham comes in before anything happens. Hold on though as Vincent grabs the mic and tells Jay Lethal, on the floor, to come stand in the right corner. That’s a no, so Vincent shows a clip of Lethal saying he doesn’t even like the Foundation.

Tracy walks Lethal to the back as Lethal protests, allowing the Righteous to jump the other two. The beating takes us to a break and we come back with Gresham being sent into the corner for a stomping, followed by some choking to make it worse. Gresham rolls over and brings in Williams to clean house, including a discus lariat to Vincent, who isn’t legal. Dutch comes in and cleans house, allowing Vincent to hit some running forearms in the corner. Redrum gets two, with Gresham needing a double save.

We take a break and come back with Vincent hitting a basement Downward Spiral for two on Gresham, including another save. The hot tag brings in Titus for a half crab on Bateman but Dutch drives Gresham into them for the save. Dutch Jackhammers Titus and Bateman adds Orange Sunshine. A ripcord Boss Man Slam finishes Titus at 12:25.

Rating: B-. Pretty good stuff here, with the Righteous being the latest group to get a bunch of TV time. That’s not a bad thing either as the team is just off enough that it makes you want to see more of them. I liked the match a good bit, as the Foundation continues to be the kind of team that does not have a bad match no matter what happens.

Overall Rating: C+. Pretty nice hour of TV here, but the lack of a future is really dragging it down. It’s hard to get excited about much of this, even if this is still the television taping from before the big news broke. I’m not sure how long the next cycle is going to go on for, but it could make for a pretty lifeless time if everything is just a bunch of cold matches.

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Ring of Honor
Date: November 10, 2021
Location: 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman 

It’s the Championship Edition of the show and that means we are in for a special main event. Bandido is going to be defending the World Title against Alex Zayne, in a title shot Zayne won back at Death Before Dishonor. Other than that, we continue down the path towards what seems to be the end of the company, though they might not have known that when the show was taped. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening video talks about what it means to be a champion while running down the card.

Opening sequence.

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

Pure Wrestling Title: LSG vs. Josh Woods

LSG is challenging and we hear him explain just how important all of this is for him. We get the Big Match Intros and even the referee gets a name graphic. LSG grabs a rollup to start and Woods smiles at him a bit. A headlock slows Woods down and a crucifix gives LSG two. An armbar sends LSG over to the ropes for the first break and we stop for a look at the commentary team.

Woods cranks on a cravate to put LSG down but he powers up into something like an F5 (albeit from a slam position instead of a fireman’s carry). Something like a Muta Lock with the arm trapped sends Woods bailing to the ropes for his first break and it’s time to slug it out on the floor. Woods counters the tornado DDT into an overhead belly to belly and the cravate goes on again back inside.

We take a break and come back with both of them down until LSG is up with a handspring clothesline. The Explosion gives LSG two and frustration is setting in. Rocket Bye Baby gets the same but Woods counters a springboard into another cravate (he really like that). Woods hits an uppercut and loads him up for a Tombstone, only to flip him backwards into a suplex. The kneebar makes LSG tap at 10:37.

Rating: C+. Woods is someone who could be a heck of a beast while he holds the title as he can make this torturing people with a variety of holds look easy. LSG was using the faster pace here but eventually got pulled into a hold to keep the title on Woods. It was a nice little story with the action to back it up.

Respect is shown post match.

We look at some highlights of last week’s Halloween special. This eats up the better part of ten minutes, which makes me wonder if they had to cut something. Or maybe they just had nothing else to put in on the show. Or maybe it’s something about how it couldn’t air on TV so we’re seeing it here instead?

Josh Woods says that’s 1-0. Quinn McKay: “Succinct. I like it.”

Commentary previews the main event but the Bouncers and Ken Dixon interrupt. They don’t like Caprice Coleman jumping into the Honor Rumble. Coleman stands up for himself and a fight almost breaks out. A match seems to have been made to wrap it up.

Alex Zayne talks about being Bandido before and he knows he can do it again.

Bandido doesn’t think that’s happening again.

Ring of Honor World Title: Bandido vs. Alex Zayne

Bandido is defending and Jonathan Gresham is on commentary. Zayne flips out of a wristlock to start and grabs some rollups for some early twos. Back up and Bandido gets two off of a Code Red but Zayne hits a gutwrench faceplant. We take a break and come back with Bandido countering a charge into a one handed gorilla press. A standing shooting star press gives Bandido two but Zayne grabs a running super hurricanrana.

That’s countered into a powerbomb faceplant and they’re both down. They chop it out until Zayne takes him up top, where Bandido hits a super Samoan driver for two. Zayne is right back up with a super gutwrench faceplant for two more, only to miss….something off the top. The X Knee into the 21 Plex rolled into a bridging German suplex retains Bandido’s title at 10:15.

Rating: B-. This was all it needed to be, as there wasn’t a great reason to believe that the title change was taking place, but they had a pretty good TV match anyway. Sometimes that’s all you need to do and it fit in well here. It’s nice to see a showcase of the World Champion and both guys looked good here.

Respect is shown post match. Bandido stares Gresham down to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. It felt like a showcase of the champions around here and that is what they were going for, long highlight package from last week in the middle aside. It’s nice to see the titles being treated as important, which doesn’t happen enough in a lot of modern wrestling today. Good stuff here, as Ring of Honor continues to be a solid TV show, even as it is winding down.

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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 27, 2021
Location: 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

Well now everything has changed. Ring of Honor’s future suddenly looks WAY different and that is not the best news. I’m not sure what is going to happen with the company but it is clear that things are going to be wrapping up. Hopefully the final few shows are good, but this is very uncharted territory. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Vincent is checking himself in the mirror and has the rest of the Righteous say that “he” is going to love it.

Quinn McKay runs down the card, which is all based on Violence vs. Pure.

Rhett Titus vs. Tony Deppen

Both of them talk about how they want to show that their style is better. They go with the technical stuff on the mat as Deppen wants to show he can do this too. Titus grabs a test of strength and powers him to the mat without much effort but Deppen reverses into a leglock. That’s broken up and we take an early break, coming back with Titus putting on a headscissors. Deppen is out in a hurry with a backslide but Titus snaps off a butterfly suplex for two.

A knee to the ribs and a knee to the back of the head give Deppen two of his own before he ties up Titus’ arms. Some biting of the hand gets two on Titus and here is Homicide to get on the apron for no logical reason. Titus blocks a backsplash by raising the knees and we take a break. Back again with Titus being sent to the apron but managing a hard slingshot shoulder for two. Homicide grabs a chair for a distraction, causing Titus to miss a running boot in the corner.

Deppen kicks him to the floor and hits a suicide flip dive (a Homicide specialty), followed by a top rope double stomp for two back inside. Homicide is NOT happy with the kickout as they trade rollups for two each. Titus gets in a gutwrench suplex and some running boots in the corner, setting up an implant DDT for two more. There’s the half crab with a knee in the back but Homicide throws in the chair for the distraction. Said distraction lets Deppen hit Titus with the chair, setting up the running boot for the pin at 12:23.

Rating: C+. I liked this one as Titus has improved a bit with his new style. He looks smooth with the clean wrestling stuff and that is nice to see as he has rarely had anything that has stuck (often through no fault of his own). Deppen is a rather good heel too and they worked well together, with the cheating making sense for the faction with the numbers advantage here.

Post break, Titus wants to know where the Foundation was during that. Fair question.

Tony Deppen asks why Homicide wouldn’t help him. They’re from the places with no rules so why would they follow rules here?

Brody King/Chris Dickinson vs. Jonathan Gresham/Tracy Williams

Homicide and Jay Lethal are the seconds. Before the match, both teams say their way is better. The Foundation jump them from behind to start in a bit of a twist and the fight goes outside early. Dickinson beats on Gresham in the corner and hands it off to King to power him around. It’s right back to Dickinson, who tries to go after Gresham’s leg, which just does not seem that bright.

King is back in with a neck crank to grind Gresham down but he finally sends King into Dickinson. That’s enough for the hot tag off to Williams so the pace can pick way up. Dickinson kicks Williams in the face but Williams hits a running corner clothesline. We take a break and come back with Gresham getting the tag and chopping away at Dickinson. The Foundation takes turns stomping on Dickinson’s ankles but Gresham ducks right into a knee to the face (that looked GREAT) to knock him silly.

Gresham gets up a boot in the corner though and tweaks King’s leg, setting up the sleeper. The other two get in a brawl of their own though and then crash the hold for the save. We take another break and come back again with King Boston crabbing Williams as Dickinson gets Gresham in an STF. Both holds are broken up so Dickinson puts the STF on Williams. That’s reversed into a Crossface but Dickinson flips out of that as well and grabs a rear naked choke. King holds Gresham back as Williams passes out at 12:52.

Rating: B. This was quite a match, with both teams getting the chance to shine. Dickinson beating Williams with a clean hold was interesting and not something I would have seen coming. If nothing else, I would have bet on the Foundation to win here to even up the night, so well done on throwing in a surprise here.

Jay Lethal and Homicide are already here and since they’re scheduled for the main event, let’s go.

Jay Lethal vs. Homicide

Lethal has the Foundation head to the back while Violence Unlimited stays at ringside, which can’t possibly go badly. Lethal starts fast and knocks Homicide outside, setting up the triple suicide dives. Back up and Homicide shoulders him to the floor, setting up the big flip dive and they’re both down for a second.

They get back in for the slow motion slugout until Lethal misses a middle rope dropkick. For some reason a fork is placed in the turnbuckle but neither can go face first into it. Instead, Homicide chokes away but Lethal scores with a superkick. Cue Dutch of the Righteous to jump Tony Deppen as the Lethal Injection finishes Homicide at 5:37.

Rating: C. It was fun while it lasted but they were flying through everything here until the screwy finish. That would be the finish where another faction interfered in a match between factions, but at least they interfered after a fast paced match. Lethal vs. Homicide could be a good showdown if they were given the chance, but we only got something fun for a little while here.

The Righteous poses on the stage and applaud everyone to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. Another pretty good show here, but it is kind of hard to get interested when this version of Ring of Honor is not going to be around much longer. There was a theme here, but this time, even moreso than usual, it was all about a few groups of wrestlers and that is not exactly the most interesting. I could go for something different, though I’m not sure if that is an option right now. Either way, at least it was a fun show with a theme.

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Ring of Honor
Date: October 20, 2021
Location: 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We’re still in the post Death Before Dishonor TV taping and that means we still have no crowd. I know Ring of Honor likes to do their marathon tapings but isn’t there some way we could get some fans in there for a change? It has made a world of difference for everyone else and the fans not being there makes Ring of Honor seem like a promotion from another universe. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Quinn McKay (hey she’s back) welcomes us to the show and gives us the preview.

Tag Team Titles: Soldiers of Savagery vs. Dragon Lee/Kenny King

Lee and King are defending. The fact that Lee is also the TV Champion and the Soldiers are part of the Six Man Tag Team Champions might make you think Ring of Honor needs to spread out its titles a bit more. The Soldiers jump them to start so the champs bail to the floor for an early breather. We settle down to Lee getting in Moses’ face for no effect. It’s the Soldiers being sent outside for a change and that means the champs get to hit the Tranquilo pose. Back in and Khan runs King over for two as we take a break.

We come back with Lee getting stomped down but King pulls Khan’s leg to break up a suplex. Back in and King pounds away on Khan for two, setting up a double basement dropkick to the back of the head. Moses gets drawn in, allowing the champs to kick away at Khan even more. A half crab sends Khan over to the ropes in a hurry but King puts it on again.

We take another break and come back again with Khan hitting a quick belly to back suplex. That’s enough for Moses to come in and clean house, including a powerbomb for two on Lee. King is back up with a clothesline to Khan and Lee counters a superplex into the Alberto double stomp on Moses. Cue Bestia del Ring as Khan kicks Lee down without much effort. The assisted elevated DDT plants Khan but Bestia has the referee. That’s enough of a distraction for King to rake Khan’s eyes and hit the Royal Flush. Lee adds the Incinerator to retain the titles at 12:53.

Rating: B-. These guys work well together and while having another stable is not the most exciting thing, it is nice to have some fresh names involved. Shane Taylor Promotions at least offers something new, even if that just made for another stable on a long list of them. The match was rather entertaining, though I’m kind of over all of these teams trading wins.

Next week: Violence vs. Pure, as the stables continue to take over the company.

World Famous CB/Joe Keys/Taylor Rust/Eli Isom vs. Foundation

The Foundation is Tracy Williams/Rhett Titus/Jonathan Gresham/Jay Lethal and their opponents were all at ringside for Lethal’s speech about the greatness of pure wrestling at Death Before Dishonor. Williams and Rust get things going and they take their time to start. They go with the technical rolling until Williams takes him into the corner for a double suplex from Titus.

Back up and Rust takes Titus into the corner so CB can hammer away. Titus is bleeding from the eye as CB reverses a headlock into one of his own. A shot to the eye and the Fuji Splash (which is a headbutt) gets two more on Titus and it’s Isom coming in for a waistlock. For some reason Isom lets him go though and Lethal comes in for a change. Lethal gets serious by taking the straps down but Isom dropkicks him anyway.

A tilt-a-whirl backbreaker drops Lethal and we take a break. Back with Lethal and Isom staring at each other until Gresham and Keys come in (meaning teacher vs. student). They waste no time in striking away until Keys kicks him in the back and drops him hard onto the top rope. Gresham is back with a running dropkick to send Keys outside and it’s off to Williams to work on the arm. The Foundation starts taking turns on the arm but Keys gets over for the tag to Rust to pick up the pace.

Rust can’t suplex Lethal out to the floor but he can throw Lethal out there, meaning the Foundation surrounds their partner. Back in and Lethal’s arm is worked over and we take a break. We come back with Lethal shrugging off Isom’s beating and hitting the Lethal Combination. The hot tag brings Williams back in to work on CB’s leg. Titus gives up the tag over to Rust though and the Perfect Circle connects, with Williams having to make the save.

A double tag brings in Lethal and Isom, with the latter hitting his own cutter. Everything breaks down and it’s Keys uppercutting Williams to little avail. Gresham comes in for an enziguri and German suplex but Keys plants Gresham for two. That’s enough from Keys, as Gresham pulls him into a kneebar for the tap at 17:50.

Rating: B. This was pretty awesome and that’s about all you could expect. The Foundation can work well with anyone and Ring of Honor has the kind of roster that can be tossed together into any combination for a solid match. Good stuff here and the Foundation continues to roll, which has been quite the fun part over the last several months.

Vincent, in a white robe and a crown, says he has been cleansed and is ready to win the World Title. Dig what he is saying?

Overall Rating: B. And that’s why Ring of Honor puts on a good show almost every week. This was a two match show and both matches worked very well. That’s about all you can ask for out of a wrestling show and this was more good stuff. I’m almost wondering if they have to run the stable stuff because they’re the only people around though, and that isn’t a good sign for the future.

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

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

AND

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

It’s better than what I originally had in mind.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/kbs-review-go-honor/

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/ring-honor-going-hiatus-wrestlers-released-contracts/

Yeah this isn’t looking good.  Basically they are going to go through the rest of the year with Final Battle on December 11 and then go on hiatus until April, when they will be back with a “new mission”.  That does not sound good and I would be surprised if they come back with anything resembling Ring of Honor.  They have had fans at maybe three shows in a year and a half, so things weren’t exactly rolling for a long time now.  The TV show is still good, but business hasn’t exactly seemed strong.  This may be it for Ring of Honor, and that is quite hte shame from a fan’s perspective.

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

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

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

AND

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

It’s nice to get away every now and then.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/kbs-review-hey-look/