Rampage
Date: May 11, 2024
Location: Rogers Arena, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness, Matt Menard

We’re still doing the back to back Collision/Rampage Saturday nights and again, Rampage has a hard act to follow. This show has a tendency to not be the most important offering from AEW but the matches themselves can more than make up for it. Hopefully they do that again here, though you never can tell what to expect with this show, regardless of time slot. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

We open with Adam Copeland and Kyle O’Reilly hugging after their Collision match. Copeland won’t let go of O’Reilly’s wrist though and O’Reilly has to force his way out before Copeland walks off. Please tell me this is just him getting burned out with all of the title matches and not Malakai Black controlling him or whatever.

Claudio Castagnoli is asked about leaving the ring while Bryan Danielson talked after their tag win earlier tonight. Castagnoli is scared of Danielson being in Anarchy In The Arena again and wants nothing to do with it at all.

Trent Beretta vs. Dalton Castle

The Boys are here with Castle, who backs him into the ropes for an early break. Castle wrestles him to the mat before hitting an elbow to the face to send Beretta outside. A running knee to the face sends Beretta to the floor, only to have him come back with a headbutt. Beretta hits a hanging DDT onto the apron and we take a break.

Back with Castle rolling through a super hurricanrana into a sunset flip for two, followed by a double clothesline. The Bang A Rang is loaded up but Beretta reverses into a piledriver for two more. Castle blocks a tornado DDT and powers him up into a release German suplex. Beretta is right back up with a running knee into the gogoplata to finish Castle at 9:38.

Rating: C+. This was Beretta getting some momentum back after losing to Orange Cassidy on Dynamite before their likely violent rematch at Double Or Nothing. As for Castle…I have no idea why he isn’t getting a better spot than he’s in here, but this is about all he’s going to be doing. At least put him in a prominent position on Ring Of Honor instead of the nothing he’s been doing in recent weeks.

Deonna Purrazzo thinks Thunder Rosa is dodging her but she has been told to keep her front towards her enemy.

Video on Rush, who wants to kick people in the face.

Bryan Keith vs. JD Drake

Keith can’t slam him to start but a shot to the face puts Drake on the floor instead. Back in and Drake hits a running boot to the face for two and Keith is a bit rocked. A running shoulder connects for Keith though and he manages the slam. Diamond Dust gives Keith the win at 2:45.

Adam Copeland is standing behind a piece of a cage with barbed wire around. He wants the full version with Malakai Black at Double Or Nothing. Well that escalated quickly.

Deonna Purrazzo vs. Lady Frost

Purrazzo grabs a headlock takeover to start before shouldering Frost down. Frost nips up and is almost immediately dropped again. An anklescissors out of the corner sends Purrazzo outside, where she knocks Frost down again as we take a break. Back with an exchange of kicks to the head leaving both of them down.

Frost sends her into the corner for a flipping Cannonball but Purrazzo Russian legsweeps her into the Fujiwara armbar. The rope is grabbed so Frost goes up for a corkscrew crossbody and a near fall. Frost heads to the top again but gets tied in the Tree of Woe for spear (as used by her husband Steve Maclin) for the pin at 8:13.

Rating: C+. This was a good way to boost Purrazzo back up before what seems to be a heated feud with Thunder Rosa. That being said, Purrazzo needs to win a match that matters as she has been portrayed as someone who tends to choke under pressure. Maybe she beats Rosa in their big showdown, but that’s far from a guarantee.

Post match Thunder Rosa runs in with a chair but Purrazzo skedaddles.

We get a new music video from the Acclaimed and Billy Gunn, mainly proclaiming their awesomeness.

Scorpio Sky talks about recovering from an injury and with him, the sky is the limit.

Pac vs. Johnny TV

Johnny has Taya Valkyrie with him. Hold on though as Johnny has to disgrace a Vancouver Canucks jersey to start, earning a beating from Pac in the corner. Pac’s missile dropkick sends Johnny to the floor and there’s a springboard moonsault. Taya offers a distraction though and Johnny fires off some strikes in the corner as we take a break.

Back with Johnny going outside to kiss Taya, allowing Pac to strike away as well. Johnny’s flipping neckbreaker gets two more, only to miss Starship Pain. Commentary ignores the match to run down the Dynamite card but stop to notice Taya’s distraction breaking up the Black Arrow. Pac sends Johnny into her and grabs the Brutalizer for the win at 9:43.

Rating: B-. Much like Dalton Castle, TV is someone who could be doing at least a bit more but he is mainly going to be used to make others look good. That was the case here, as Pac needed a win to help rebuild himself after the Dynasty loss. Pac looked like a killer again here and that is likely to be the case with whatever he does next.

Post match the Bullet Club Gold pops up on screen to tell Pac to mind his own business to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. And that is Rampage in a nutshell: the wrestling is decent at worst, but the biggest story is Adam Copeland challenging Malakai Black and demanding an answer on Dynamite. The rest of the show ranged from mid to lower midcard stories and while it wasn’t bad, the show could not feel much less important. It’s the definition of a supplement, and when Dynamite is so crammed full, it makes me wonder why they can’t put at least a little more of importance on this show. The usual fine but not required viewing this week.

Results
Trent Beretta b. Dalton Castle – Gogoplata
Bryan Keith b. JD Drake – Diamond Dust
Deonna Purrazzo b. Lady Frost – Spear in the Tree of Woe
Pac b. Johnny TV – Brutalizer

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

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Ring Of Honor
Date: February 1, 2024
Location: Brookshire Grocery Arena, Bossier City, Louisiana
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We’re back on the slow road towards what will likely be Supercard Of Honor and I have no idea when we might get started on a build to the show. In this case, we have the Kingdom in a bunch of non-title matches and Kyle Fletcher losing to someone not even in ROH. In other words, everything is as normal. Let’s get to it.

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

Dalton Castle tries to throw garbage on Johnny TV and Taya Valkyrie. Jerry Lynn comes in to break it up and tells Castle that his friend has a match next week on ROH TV. Johnny doesn’t buy it and offers to fight the friend himself, whomever it may be. Castle still isn’t happy.

Opening sequence.

Spanish Announce Project vs. Russells

Angelico takes Kameron down to start and it’s off to Serpentico for a top rope stomp to the arm. Allen makes the save but Serpentico drops a knee for two more on Kameron. A double hiptoss puts Serpentico down for the same, which is about it for the Russells’ offense. Serpentico fights up and gets over to Angelico without much trouble, with an ankle lock putting Kameron in trouble. Allen makes the save but it’s something like a Tequila Sunrise to give Angelico the tap at 5:34.

Rating: C. This is a good example of a match that should have been little more than the Project coming in and beating these guys in about a minute and a half. It’s the kind of match that makes the show go long without getting much benefit out of it. The Russells looked fine, but the Project needed a win after the unmasking deal.

Post match Maria Kanellis-Bennett, Cole Karter and Griff Garrison come out to taunt the Project with Serpentico’s mask.

Nyla Rose vs. Emmy Camacho

Camacho fights out of an early Beast Bomb attempt so Rose settles for a side slam instead. A torture rack flipped over into a cutter finishes for Rose at 1:34. Total dominance, as it should have been.

Iron Savages/Jacked Jameson vs. KM/Braxton Hunter/Jon Cruz

Jameson pumphandle slams Hunter to start and it’s off to Bronson to launch him with a gorilla press. Boulder comes in and gets to clean house before it’s off to Jameson for the Savage Sauce. The Sauce Toss (toss powerslam) finishes Hunter at 2:20. I could go for not having the Savages around every week but at least they made it quick here.

Ethan Page thinks he’s on the road to the TV Title and it’s being pushed by his daughter. This includes wearing the colors his daughter picked out and now he’s ready to continue his road to gold.

Dalton Castle vs. Aaron Solo

The Boys are here with Castle, who has to be wheeled to the stage. Castle’s gear is even missing his wings and his boots aren’t laced. Castle charges into some shots to the face to start as Solo knocks him outside. Some forearms to the back have Castle even more annoyed and Solo ax handles him down. A spinning kick to the head wakes Castle up and the Bang A Rang quickly finishes at 3:19.

Rating: C. They’re doing something with Castle and that is nice to see after having him do almost nothing for so long. I’m looking forward to the showdown with Johnny TV, as those two are set up for a collision course. The important thing here is that Castle is getting a chance to show what he can do, which has been on hold for far too long now.

Nyla Rose asks Lexi Nair about Billie Starkz, who is off getting ready for her match. Ah ok so Rose leaves….and then comes back to scream about how she has something to say to Starkz. Next week though, they’re going to be in Athena’s hometown so it’s time to deal with her in person.

Kingdom vs. Tom Lawlor/Fred Rosser

Non-title Proving Ground match, meaning if Lawlor and Rosser win or survive the ten minute time limit, they get a future Tag Team Title shot. Rosser and Lawlor continue their arguments (from NJPW Strong) so the Kingdom jumps them to start. Rosser gets elbowed down for an early two but he comes back with a backdrop. It’s off to Lawlor to forearm it out with Bennett, followed by a spinebuster for two.

Taven trips Lawlor up so Bennett can get in a spinebuster of his own, followed by a superkick. Lawlor’s shot to the face allows the tag off to Rosser as everything breaks down. Lawler and Rosser get stereo holds but Bennett drives Lawlor into the other two for the save. Taven is back with Just The Tip into the powerbomb/Zig Zag combination to finish Rosser at 7:29.

Rating: C+. They were starting to play into the time limit deal at the end but again it’s exactly the same as it always is: the champs might break a bit of a sweat but ultimately they win/don’t go to the draw. Just doing that one time would open up a bunch of options or drama for these things but instead, it’s the same thing over and over and over.

Ethan Page vs. Slim J

J headscissors him down to start but Page is back up with a running shoulder. A delayed vertical suplex plants J again and the belly to back fisherman’s suplex makes it worse. Back up and J hits a running Sliced Bread, setting up a sleeper to keep Page in trouble. Page fights up and hits a backdrop, followed by a big boot into a powerslam for two. Ego’s Edge is countered into a hurricanrana and a Downward Spiral gives J two of his own. The springboard cutter drops J and the Ego’s Edge is good for the pin at 6:08.

Rating: C+. It wasn’t bad and Page’s road to the title continues, assuming he doesn’t get sidetracked by someone like Tony Nese again. J is someone who can do some nice flips and has been presented as someone decent, so the win was at least worth a little something for Page. Now just get him to someone more prominent already.

Billie Starkz vs. Killa Kate

Kate works on a wristlock to start but has to fight out of a headlock. Starkz sends her outside but the suicide dive is cut off. Back in and Starkz counters what seems to be a victory roll into a kind of driver for the pin at 2:41.

Rachael Ellering says the TV Title tournament brackets are about to be released. Leyla Hirsch is ready for anything.

Infantry vs. Righteous

Bravo works on Vincent’s arm to start and hands it off to Dean for a shot to the face. Dutch comes in and shrugs off some right hands before firing Bravo into the corner. We hit the neck crank followed by the bearhug but Bravo elbows his way to freedom. Dutch misses a middle rope legdrop and now the tag brings in Dean. Vincent breaks up Boot Camp and Orange Sunshine finishes Dean at 6:36.

Rating: C+. This is the kind of match that should have gotten a bit more time as they’re both established teams. You could have gone with either team winning here, but now the Righteous need to be talked about more in the title picture. If they keep winning, there is no reason to not move them towards the belts. That being said, it doesn’t matter if the Kingdom is only facing makeshift teams rather than the actual teams in the division.

Red Velvet is ready for the TV Title tournament.

Queen Aminata vs. Reiza Clark

The larger Clark easily powers out of a waistlock but Aminata escapes a slam. Aminata drops her with a forearm and wins another strike off. A dropkick to the leg cuts off a charging Clark and the running hip attack connects in the corner. Aminata hits a top rope double stomp for the pin at 3:39.

Rating: C. Commentary pointed out that Aminata has wrestled more matches in AEW/ROH since Final Battle and I still don’t think I could tell you anything about her. Other than her being some kind of African royalty (which is also true of Bishop Kaun), she doesn’t do anything that makes her stand out in any significant way. It’s the same kind of match that you see from a bunch of women in the division and that doesn’t help her in the slightest.

Gringo Loco vs. Bad Dude Tito

Tito snaps off a hurricanrana to start and then powers him down without much effort. Loco runs him over for a fast two but Tito yells at him for the ensuing chops. An electric chair bomb gives Loco two and a moonsault to the floor hits Tito again. Tito pops back up for a suicide dive but this time it’s Loco coming back with a super Spanish Fly. Tito’s Blue Thunder Bomb gets two more and an F5 finishes Loco at 7:08.

Rating: B-. It wasn’t a great match but it stood out more than anything else on the show so far. Loco is another case where you can have him out there with almost anyone and get a nice performance, which was the case here. Tito is a powerhouse who can fly fairly well and that should get him a long way, even if he isn’t someone who is likely to be around here often.

Dalton Castle apologizes for snapping earlier but won’t say who his friend is. Then he falls in a laundry cart.

Trish Adora vs. Kiera Hogan vs. Diamante vs. Red Velvet

Velvet and Hogan are clotheslined down to start, leaving Adora and Diamante to slug it out. Hogan is back up for some armdrags until Adora German suplexes Hogan for two. Diamante legsweeps Adora for two and it’s Hogan getting to stomp away. Adora pulls a diving Velvet out of the air and powerslams her down. The Lariat Tubman sends Diamante outside, leaving Velvet to hit the Mix and pin Adora at 4:05.

Rating: C. So in this match with four women running around and doing moves to each other, Velvet got the win. Why this is supposed to matter in a tournament of singles matches that will certainly be happening at some point in the future isn’t clear but we’ve spent so much time building the tournament up that it’s hard to get interested. They really would have been better suited to not announce the tournament so soon, as we’re approaching two months since it was announced before anything actually happens.

Lee Johnson vs. Blake Christian vs. Jack Cartwheel vs. Alex Zayne

Cartwheel is rather enthusiastic to start and snaps off his namesake. He tries another one but Christian dropkicks him out to the floor in a smart move. Back in and Cartwheel flips away from Christian and knocks him outside for a change, only to have Johnson grab a neckbreaker for two.

A suplex drops Christian onto Cartwheel but Johnson runs in with a Canadian Destroyer. Johnson’s Blue Thunder bomb gets two and Christian gets Zayne in a Texas Cloverleaf in the corner. Christian splashes Cartwheel and then takes Zayne down. Cartwheel hits a big flip dive to the floor but misses a cartwheel splash back inside. Johnson’s reverse inverted DDT finishes Cartwheel at 7:34.

Rating: C+. It was slightly longer than the previous one but that doesn’t make it much better. They flew threw all of their spots until Johnson won, which gains him….pretty much nothing. That’s the issue with so much around here and it was on full display with this match. The guys all flew around and did some entertaining stuff, but it’s just four more people doing moves until one of them got a pin.

Overall Rating: C+. This show is divided into two parts: the stuff that matters (and it does exist) and the stuff that is there to fill in the time. There is so much on here that is little more than “that might get this person in line for a title shot” which never seems to come, making me wonder why they even bother with it. The wrestling is good enough most of the time but it’s not like any of this is blowing away everything else. As usual, cut this in half and it’s a lot better, but that’s not the Ring Of Honor way.

Results
Spanish Announce Project b. Russells – Tequila Sunrise to Angelico
Nyla Rose b. Emmy Camacho – Torture rack cutter
Iron Savages/Jacked Jameson b. KM/Braxton Hunter/Jon Cruz – Sauce Toss to Hunter
Dalton Castle b. Aaron Solo – Bang A Rang
Kingdom b. Tom Lawlor/Fred Rosser – Powerbomb/Zig Zag combination to Rosser
Ethan Page b. Slim J – Ego’s Edge
Billie Starkz b. Killa Kate – Electric chair driver
Righteous b. Infantry – Orange Sunshine to Dean
Queen Aminata b. Reiza Clark – Top rope double stomp
Bad Dude Tito b. Gringo Loco – F5
Red Velvet b. Trish Adora, Kiera Hogan and Diamante – The Mix to Adora
Lee Johnson b. Blake Christian, Jack Cartwheel and Alex Zayne – Reverse inverted DDT to Cartwheel

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

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Ring Of Honor
Date: January 11, 2024
Location: Bojangles Coliseum, Charlotte, North Carolina
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

Last week’s show did not feature quite the normal amount of champions as even Athena was missing in action. I’m not sure what that is going to mean for the show going forward, but there is always the chance that it’s just a one off issue. Maybe this week’s show will be back to normal so let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Jon Cruz vs. Zak Knight

Knight runs him over at the bell to start and hits a delayed vertical suplex. Cruz slips out of another suplex attempt but hurts his hand chopping Knight. A running hurricanrana takes Cruz down but he drop toeholds Knight face first into the buckle. The chinlock goes on, only to have Knight fight up for the break. Knight sits down on his chest for two but charges into a boot in the corner. Cruz’s Swanton gets two so Knight Razor’s Edges him into the corner. A running forearm finishes for Knight at 7:20.

Rating: C. Knight continues to look pretty good in the ring, though this went longer than it needed to last. Cruz is someone who has been around here in a few different roles, but this was more about making him look even with Knight than anything else. Cut this down a bit and it’s better for Knight, but as it was, it was little more than a back and forth match between people who haven’t done much.

Tony Nese vs. Marcus Cross

Before the match, Nese promises to take out some aggression here. Nese hammers him into the corner to start but Cross manages a hard kick. That doesn’t matter much as Nese takes him to the floor for a crash, followed by the Randy Savage neck snap across the top rope. Nese misses his springboard moonsault so Cross kicks away and hits a springboard elbow to the face. Not that it matters as Nese spins him into a sitout piledriver for the pin at 4:55.

Rating: C. This was similar to the opener but it was more to the point, which is a good thing. Nese is still doing well enough but he doesn’t feel like a big star with the whole fitness/”You’re fat” stuff. They did keep it fast though and for a match like this, that is one of the more important ideas.

TV Title: Angelico vs. Kyle Fletcher

Fletcher is defending and has to go straight to the ropes to escape a wristlock. Back up and Fletcher knocks him down in the corner but Angelico is back with a kick to the head. Fletcher sends him into the ropes and out to the floor, where Angelico avoids a slingshot dive. Back in and Fletcher runs him over for two but Angelico hits a kick to the back in the corner. A belly to back suplex sets up a leglock on Fletcher, who is right back up. Fletcher kicks him in the back, setting up a piledriver for the pin to retain at 7:40.

Rating: C+. Angelico continues to be a good hand around here, if nothing else for the sake of how different his style really can be. The result wasn’t quite in doubt, but it’s still nice to have a champion around here. Fletcher is starting to feel like a better deal on his own, though I’m wondering what is going to happen when Mark Davis is healthy again.

Dalton Castle is still all upset and wants to face Johnny TV. The match is made, assuming TV agrees, but Castle knows that won’t happen. Castle begs Lexi Nair to go ask for him and gives her…something that might have been food from his jumpsuit.

Righteous vs. Dawsons

The Righteous jump them to start but Vincent gets caught in the wrong corner so Zane can hit him in the ribs. That doesn’t last long as it’s Dutch coming in to run Zane over. The swinging Boss Man Slam finishes for Dutch at 2:06.

Shane Taylor Promotions is ready to beat the Infantry in their 2/3 falls match tonight.

The Boys vs. Iron Savages

Jacked Jameson is here with the Savages. Boulder shoves Brent down to start but Brandon comes in for a dropkick. Brandon gets sent face first into the chest hair though as commentary talks about Woo Energy. A standing Sliced Bread gets Brandon out of trouble but Boulder is back with a World’s Strongest Slam/powerbomb combination. The electric chair splash finishes Brandon at 4:23.

Rating: C. Neither team exactly has momentum right now but if they can be built up with a few wins, they could be put into the title hunt. Then again, and yes I certainly do mean again, that would imply the champs actually showing up around here. At least the Savages got a win though, which is more than they have been doing in recent weeks.

Serpentico vs. Cole Karter

Karter jumps him to start and hammers away on the mat. A dropkick misses for Karter so Serpentico gets in a kick to the face and Downward Spiral for two. Serpentico fires off some more strikes but cue Maria Kanellis-Bennett and Griff Garrison for a distraction. Karter grabs a rollup with tights for the pin at 3:50.

Rating: C-. Not much to this one, though it’s not the most promising sign that Karter needed two people to help him beat Serpentico. This feud has been going on for weeks longer than it needed to and while I’m thankful for some kind of a recurring story, Maria and her boys are still not very interesting. I’m not sure what Ring Of Honor sees in them and it’s not getting much better.

Post match Garrison runs in for the beatdown but Angelico makes the save.

Johnny TV, with Taya Valkyrie, turns down Dalton Castle because Castle isn’t TV ready. Speaking of TV ready, Taya is ready for the Women’s TV Title. They realize Taya’s initials are TV and are rather pleased.

Lady Frost vs. Trish Adora vs. Queen Aminata vs. Diamante

Diamante and Frost are sent outside to start, leaving Aminata and Adora to fight over a backslide. Back up and Frost kicks her in the head for two but Diamante is back in with a rolling cutter on Adora. Frost drops Diamante and sends Adora outside but Adora is back in with a double powerbomb to drive Diamante onto Frost for two. Aminata hits a top rope double stomp to finish Frost at 3:25.

Rating: C. Well that was fast. The match didn’t even have a minute for everyone involved so there was only so much that could be done with something like this. Aminata seems to be the next project in AEW/ROH and that means she is going to need more than winning a four way that doesn’t even last three and a half minutes. If nothing else, she needs a better showcase, as she didn’t have much of one here.

Josh Woods vs. LaBron Kozone

Woods punches him down but Kozone nips back up. The GYT finishes Kozone at 45 seconds.

The Infantry is ready for Shane Taylor Promotions tonight.

Robyn Renegade vs. Taya Valkyrie

Johnny TV is here with Taya. Renegade hits a quick dropkick to start but Valkyrie gets her into the corner for the running knees. The stomp (which, believe it or not, is dubbed the Shania Pain) finishes Renegade at 1:46.

Billie Starkz and Lexi Nair are very happy that Athena is gone because they can have fun. Starkz does have something to do though, including winning the Women’s TV Title.

Leyla Hirsch/Rachael Ellering vs. Brittany Jade/Emily Hale

Hirsch knocks Hale into the corner to start and it’s already off to Jade. That means the beating continues, with Ellering snapping off some chops. The Boss Woman Slam finishes Hale at 2:10.

Post match Abadon pops up as a surprise, apparently interested in the Women’s TV Title.

Jack Cartwheel vs. Slim J vs. Blake Christian vs. Gravity

Christian and Cartwheel clear out the other two to start, with both of them escaping headscissors. Cartwheel takes over and hits a slingshot spinning elbow. Christian is back up to send Cartwheel outside for the big running flip dive. Back in and J starts to clean house, including a rope walk spinning kick to Christian’s face for two.

Christian kicks him down though,, only to have Cartwheel send them into the corners for cartwheel splashes. Gravity is back in to take over, including a slow motion Vader Bomb on J. Cartwheel hits another dive but gets taken down by Christian. Back in and Christian grabs a Texas Cloverleaf to make J tap for the win at 8:00.

Rating: B-. This was straight out of the independent playbook with everyone flying all over the place until someone caught a quick fall in the end. Christian getting the win is more than a little surprising and while I’ll believe he’s getting a chance when I see it, this is better than more of the same. Fun match, with all of the big dives you would expect.

Athena is at a wrestling school where she says she is healing up a bit but Nyla Rose runs in to lay out Athena and the students. Rose puts her through a table.

Lee Johnson vs. Christopher Daniels

They trade armdrags to start until Johnson misses a dropkick. Johnson one ups himself by missing a high crossbody, allowing Daniels to start in on the ribs. Some shoulders to the ribs set up a gutbuster, followed by the logical waistlock. A middle rope elbow gives Daniels two and the waistlock goes on again. Johnson fights up and hits a quick dropkick into a jumping neckbreaker. A quick Angel’s Wings attempt is broken up so Daniels settles for a flapjack instead. That’s enough to set up the Angel’s Wings to give Daniels the pin at 8:34.

Rating: C+. It’s almost weird to see Daniels get a win but this is something that is pretty long overdue. At some pint you need to give him a win so that people beating him means something, which is what we had here. Johnson is already falling back to earth though and I can’t imagine he goes back up.

Infantry vs. Shane Taylor Promotions

2/3 falls. The villains miss a cheap shot to start and get knocked outside, with the Infantry hitting stereo dives to follow. Back in and a jumping Downward Spiral gets two on Moriarty, setting up a running basement dropkick to the side of the head. A knee drop gets two on Moriarty but Taylor blasts Bravo with a right hand. Back in and Taylor hits the big right hand to pin Dean for the first fall at 3:21.

The second fall begins with Taylor ripping at Bravo’s eyes in the corner, setting up a hard clothesline for two. Bravo slips off the shoulders though and the hot tag brings in Dean to clean house. A Death Valley Driver into a frog splash finishes Moriarty to tie it up at 6:12 overall. Everything breaks down and all four are quickly knocked down. Bravo actually drops Taylor with a right hand for two but Taylor pulls him out of the air for a release Rock Bottom. Moriarty adds the suplex DDT for the pin and the match at 9:36.

Rating: C+. The match was good enough but they could have done the exact same thing without the 2/3 falls stipulation. As has been the case in the past, Shane Taylor Promotions seems to be ready to become the next challengers for the titles, but none of that matters if the champions aren’t around for the title match. It’s nice to see a team being elevated though and they’re getting there in a tried and true method.

Overall Rating: C. I am pretty much out of ways to describe how uninteresting so much of this show has become. There are some storylines sprinkled throughout, but it doesn’t matter if people are just thrown into matches here and there. That was the case with multiple matches here and it didn’t make for a good show. As usual, this show was long for the sake of being long and that doesn’t help anyone.

Results
Zak Knight b. Jon Cruz – Running forearm
Tony Nese b. Marcus Cross – Sitout piledriver
Kyle Fletcher b. Angelico – Piledriver
Righteous b. Dawsons – Swinging Boss Man Slam to Zane
Iron Savages b. The Boys – Electric chair splash to Brandon
Cole Karter b. Serpentico – Rollup with tights
Queen Aminata b. Diamante, Lady Frost and Trish Adora – Top rope double stomp to Frost
Josh Woods b. LaBron Kozone – GYT
Taya Valkyrie b. Robyn Renegade – Shania Pain8
Leyla Hirsch/Rachael Ellering b. Brittany Jade/Emily Hale – Boss Woman Slam to Hale
Blake Christian b. Slim J, Jack Cartwheel and Gravity – Texas Cloverleaf to J

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

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AND

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Ring Of Honor
Date: January 4, 2024
Location: Frost Bank Center, San Antonio, Texas
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We’re back with another show taped a little while ago and in this case the TV Champion is actually going to be getting in the ring. Other than that, the World Title situation has since been resolved, but we won’t be seeing the champ until next week at the earliest. We also have new Tag Team Champs, as in the titles that as of yesterday have not been seen on this show in five months. Let’s get to it.

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

Eddie Kingston, after winning the Triple Crown at Worlds End, talks about how special it was. I’m still not sure if those are individual titles or one unified belt and they need to explain that sooner than later.

Opening sequence.

Griff Garrison vs. Serpentico

Cole Karter and Angelico are here too. Serpentico snaps off a headscissors to start and let’s hit that All In tickets are available plug! Karter offers a distraction but gets taken down by Angelico. The nefarious scheme works though as Garrison hits a hard clothesline to take over. Some belly to back suplexes set up a belly to back faceplant for two on Serpentico. Garrison’s torture rack doesn’t work as Serpentico is out with a superkick and Downward Spiral for two. Serpentico’s shooting star press is loaded up but the seconds get on the apron for a distraction. Garrison hits a discus forearm and the torture rack bomb finishes at 5:25.

Rating: C. The match was fine, but forgive me for not believing that this is going to be the start of something important. Both teams, and as a result their individual members, have been stuck on a treadmill for months. Not having Maria out there didn’t help and this was a perfectly watchable match that could not have felt less important if they tried.

Lance Archer vs. JP Harlow

Harlow slaps him for not shaking hands so it’s a chokeslam and a toss suplex to start the pain. Archer misses a charge into the corner though and Harlow strikes away, only to get kneed in the corner. The Blackout finishes for Archer at 2:09. Fun squash.

Dalton Castle vs. Peter Avalon

Castle, with the Boys, comes to the ring looking rather disheveled and eating a sandwich. They start a bit slowly, with Castle shoving him around and Avalon being shocked at the strength. Avalon manages to shove Castle off the top for a nasty crash and we hit the chinlock back inside. That’s broken up so Avalon hits a superkick into the Death Valley Driver for two. Avalon takes a bit too long though and it’s a suplex to put him down. The Bang A Rang is countered into a rollup so Castle elbows him in the face. Now the Bang A Rang (with the Boys spinning around at ringside) can finish for Castle at 6:35.

Rating: C+. Another perfectly fine match which got a bit more time than some of the usuals around here. There is something to Castle being all out of sorts as it should set up a big match with Johnny TV down the line. What matters is they are giving us some kind of a story and that makes things more interesting going forward.

Ethan Page and Scorpio Sky talk about how they support each other and this will be their year.

Queen Aminata vs. Maya World

Aminata takes her down with a headlock to start but Maya is right back up with a flipping forearm in the corner. A moonsault hits knees though and Aminata snaps off a suplex. Aminata German suplexes her down and hits a running hip attack in the corner for two. World is back up with a running elbow but charges into a Downward Spiral. The Juicy Lock (a Koji Clutch with leg shots to the face) finishes for Aminata at 3:48.

Rating: C. Aminata seems to be the next project in the women’s division, or at least someone who will be a prospect for the future. She has a unique look and the confidence, but I’m going to need to see her doing more than jobbing and winning three minute matches. Nice enough match and I’m sure we’ll see more from Aminata going forward.

The Infantry vs. The Boys vs. Shane Taylor Promotions

Moriarty and Brent start things off with the latter taking over on the arm. Brandon comes in but gets kicked down, allowing Dean to come in for some right hands. A double suplex drops Brandon but Taylor pulls Dean outside for a heck of a right hand. Shane gets in and gets caught with a double Eat Defeat and a double superkick to send him back outside. Boot Camp hits Brandon but Taylor tags himself back in to break it up. The Marcus Garvey Driver finishes Brandon at 4:12.

Rating: C+. Ok, cool. Taylor and Moriarty get a win in another multi team match. With the Kingdom winning the Tag Team Titles, there is no reason for them to not be around here. Build up a team or two around here and get them a title shot. We are coming up on six months of the Tag Team Champions not even appearing on this show so fix things already. The match itself was a way to make Taylor look dominant and Moriarty compliments him well. I don’t know why we should be seeing a heel vs. heel title program, but maybe there is another team coming up.

Serpentico interrupts Griff Garrison and Cole Karter because this feud must continue.

Red Velvet vs. Alex Gracia

Gracia takes her to the mat to start and grabs a quickly broken ankle lock. An elbow to the face and middle rope spinning crossbody give Gracia two and we hit the front facelock. Back up and Gracia misses a charge in the corner so Velvet hits some running knees to the back of the head. The Mix (which I believe she used to call the Final/Last Slice) finishes for Velvet at 3:18.

Rating: C. This was a lot more about Gracia than anything else as she got in most of the offense until Velvet hit one or two shots for the win. Velvet is another someone who seems like she has been ready for a push but I’m not sure she has the skills to make it work. Gracia wears a lot of bright pink so she stands out, though she’s going to need some more time to really polish things up.

Post match Velvet says she wants the Women’s TV Title.

Rachael Ellering/Leyla Hirsch vs. Diamante/Mercedes Martinez

Ellering takes Diamante down to start and it’s already off to Hirsch. With Diamante taken down, Ellering is right back in for a backsplash but Hirsch gets caught in the ropes for a hanging DDT. Diamante chokes and stomps in the corner before forearming Hirsch down. The corner dropkick misses though and Hirsch snaps off a running German suplex. That’s enough for the tag off to Ellering for the house cleaning as everything breaks down. Hirsch is sent outside and it’s standing Sliced Bread into an Air Raid Crash to give Martinez the pin on Ellering at 7:12.

Rating: C+. This feud continues to keep going and I can’t imagine that changing until we get to the TV Title tournament. As usual, there is only so much that can be done with nothing for them to fight over and since there is nothing to suggest they’ll be fighting Athena anytime soon, the TV Title is about all there is left.

We look at Eddie Kingston winning the Continental Classic. I believe this is the same package from Dynamite.

TV Title: Willie Mack vs. Kyle Fletcher

Fletcher is defending and manages to power Mack into the corner to start. A headlock takeover puts Mack down but he’s right back up to run Fletcher over. The running crossbody is countered into the swinging Rock Bottom to plant Mack again though as this is mostly one sided so far. Fletcher grabs the arm and knocks him down a few times, only to have Mack block a slam.

Some running clotheslines and the swinging slam put Fletcher down and the Mackarena standing moonsault gets two. Back up and Fletcher hits a running boot in the corner, followed by a delayed brainbuster for two more. Mack is fine enough to hit a running Razor’s Edge buckle bomb and we hit the Texas Cloverleaf. With that broken up, Mack takes him to the top but gets caught with a super Falcon Arrow. A piledriver retains the title at 11:03.

Rating: B-. This is the kind of title defense that Fletcher needed. He was in there against someone good enough to be a bit of a threat and had to work to get there, but ultimately the win felt pretty definitive. Best match on the show by far this week and it’s nice when it’s the most important as well.

Dalton Castle hasn’t slept since Final Battle because he’s worried about the state of Ring Of Honor. Johnny TV cost him the TV Title and cut off his connection with the fans. Cue TV and Taya Valkyrie, with Castle threatening to smash his face. Valkyrie does NOT approve and violence seems to be teased.

Gringo Loco/Workhorsemen vs. El Hijo del Vikingo/Lee Johnson/Komander

Henry kicks Johnson in the ribs to start and elbows him in the face to make it worse. Komander comes in and gets chopped by Loco but comes back with a quick headscissors. A springboard hurricanrana has Loco in the corner so it’s off to Vikingo for a springboard wristdrag to Drake. Everything breaks down and Komander is sent outside, with Loco hitting a big dive onto the pile.

Back in and Vikingo gets crushed in the corner, setting up a DDT from Drake. Loco hits a powerslam for two but Vikingo rolls over and brings in Komander to clean house. Vikingo and Komander go up top for the big moonsaults to the floor but Henry powerbombs Vikingo out of the corner for two. Komander and Vikingo wind up in an electric chair on Loco’s shoulders (geez) before both get planted, with Johnson having to break up the cover. Komander grabs a quick rollup for the pin on Loco at 9:31.

Rating: B-. The match was the usual fun with the AAA guys flying around and doing their usual things, but I’ve almost lost count of the amount of times we’ve seen something similar on this show or Rampage. It would be nice to see something like this go somewhere, but for now that isn’t the case. I’ll certainly take a high flying main event though, with that double electric chair being rather impressive.

Overall Rating: C+. As usual, this show can be entertaining if you accept that most of the matches are a bunch of one offs that aren’t likely to lead very far. The show was back up to over an hour and a half so it was an even longer than usual version of a bunch of filler around two or three matches that tied into an interesting story. I’m sure next week will be back to normal with the usual two hours, but could they please try to have some more of the champions around? It shouldn’t be that complicated.

Results
Griff Garrison b. Serpentico – Torture rack powerbomb
Lance Archer b. JP Harlow – Blackout
Dalton Castle b. Peter Avalon – Bang A Rang
Queen Aminata b. Maya World – Juicy Lock
Shane Taylor Promotions b. The Boys and The Infantry – Marcus Garvey Driver to Brandon
Red Velvet b. Alex Gracia – Mix
Diamante/Mercedes Martinez b. Leyla Hirsch/Rachael Ellering – Air Raid Crash to Ellering
Kyle Fletcher b. Willie Mack – Piledriver
El Hijo del Vikingo/Komander/Lee Johnson b. Workhorsemen/Gringo Loco – Rollup to Loco

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Ring Of Honor
Date: December 21, 2023
Location: Curtis Cullwell Center, Arlington, Texas
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We’re done with Final Battle and that means it’s time to start the build towards I’d assume Supercard Of Honor over Wrestlemania Weekend. Granted that means we have a few months before that comes into play, so odds are we’ll be looking at some run of the mill shows for a long time. Let’s get to it.

Here is Final Battle if you need a recap.

We open with a recap of Athena retaining the Women’s Title over Billie Starkz in the Final Battle main event.

Athena is with Lexi Nair, who took a long time to bring her title in at Final Battle. Tonight, Athena is taking out some frustrations.

Opening sequence.

Commentary runs down some of the card.

Workhorsemen vs. Von Erichs

Kevin Von Erich is here with the Von Erichs. Before the match, the Workhorsemen promise to prove that they’re great while the former World Class stars were trash. Drake shoulders Ross down to start but Ross is up with a dropkick. Henry comes in and gets armdragged, setting up Marshall’s dropkick to keep him in trouble.

Since that worked so well, a double dropkick drops Henry again but Drake gets in a cheap shot to put Ross down. Drake comes back in and mocks the Claw, only to miss a middle rope headbutt. It’s back to Marshall to clean house but Henry breaks up the Claw. The Cannonball crushes Marshall but Drake misses a moonsault, allowing Marshall to hit one of his own for the pin at 6:15.

Rating: C+. Having the Von Erichs wrestle around Dallas last week at Final Battle was the biggest layup imaginable, as it made all the sense in the world. Then they’ve done it twice more in the last week and it just kind of shows that the team isn’t very good. They’re not terrible, but they’re the definition of a generic team who rely on one thing to get their reactions. Do this once or twice and it can work, but the third time was going too far with it and my first reaction was “oh, these guys again, how interesting”. Granted the same thing could be said about the Workhorsemen.

Post match Henry goes after Kevin and gets the Claw. Where have I seen this before?

We look at Kyle Fletcher winning Survival Of The Fittest to become the new TV Champion.

Athena vs. Mona World

Proving Ground, meaning non-title but if World lasts the ten minutes or wins, she gets a future title shot. World elbows her down to start and rolls over Athena, who catches her with a quick powerbomb. Athena sends her hard into the corner and hits a knee to the chest for two. World is back up with a Sling Blade and a hurricanrana, followed by a Falcon Arrow for two more. The split legged moonsault misses though and the O Face finishes for Athena at 5:17.

Rating: C. Of all the Proving Ground matches where the champ never feels like they’re in any real danger and then wins in the end without the match coming close to the time limit, this was the most recent. What is anyone supposed to get out of these things? The champ has never lost and it’s very rare to see anyone get close to an upset. Do something with the concept already because otherwise, what’s the point of the gimmick?

Post match Athena shows respect and then attacks World.

Here is Tony Khan for an announcement: the Women’s TV Title. Details to come, including how they crown a Seth Rollins to Athena’s Roman Reigns.

Lee Johnson vs. Dante Martin

Johnson wrestles him to the mat to start but has to flip out of a wristlock. Some armdrags into an armbar have Martin down but he does the same thing to Johnson for some gamesmanship. Martin’s snap suplex gets two and we’re off to the hammerlock. Johnson is back up with a suplex of his own.

We hit the chinlock for a bit before Johnson sends him out outside in a heap. After the big dive, Johnson counters a springboard into a quick powerbomb for two more. A Death Valley Driver and standing moonsault give Martin two but Martin’s spinning full nelson slam is good for the pin at 9:02.

Rating: C+. That was a Ring Of Honor match all right, as you have two young stars having a match without much in the way of stakes. I’m sure the answer will be a possible TV Title shot, but forgive me given the history of title matches around here. Other than that, it’s great to see Martin back in the ring and it’s smart to have him use something other than the double springboard moonsault.

Ethan Page, with Scorpio Sky, is happy with his win and can feel the fear from everyone in the locker room. Sky has seen Page lose more than once but now he’s here to make Page fulfill his promises to be a champion.

Blake Christian/Willie Mack vs. Gates Of Agony

Christian dropkicks Kaun down to start but makes the mistake of following him outside. That means a ram into the announcers’ table, followed by a whip into the barricade. Back in and Christian slips away so Mack can come in and clean house. The swinging slam gets two on Kaun but he’s back up to dropkick a charging Mack. Christian comes back in to send Kaun outside, setting up the dive to drop him again. Back in and Toa pulls Christian out of the air for a swinging release Rock Bottom. Toa Pounces Mack and the double lifting slam finishes Christian at 6:45.

Rating: C. Again I ask why the Mogul Embassy have the Six Man Tag Team Titles when the Gates wrestle as a two man team so often. Other than that, this was another one off match against a makeshift team. The Gates continue to be the resident power team who aren’t going anywhere, which continues to be a waste of what they could do.

Tony Nese rants about what it took to make him say I Quit. Mark Sterling wants to start stacking the deck against Ring Of Honor.

Lance Archer/Righteous vs. Iron Savages/Jacked Jameson

Vincent takes over on Bronson to start and chokes him on the ropes. Dutch comes in to send Bronson into the corner before it’s off to Archer for a Pounce. Bronson fights out of the corner and brings in Boulder to clean house, only to have Dutch catch him with a swinging Boss Man Slam. The Black Out into Autumn Sunshine finishes Jameson at 4:55.

Rating: C. As has been the case through a good chunk of this show, this was the same thing we’ve seen before. It’s a group getting a win over a lower level group with little drama and little more than a squash to get there. I have no idea why we need to see some of these guys almost every week but at least their boxes are checked off again.

Maria Kanellis-Bennett credits her music for last week’s win. This week, Griff Garrison and Cole Karter are ready to team in an eight man tag….with the Spanish Announce Project. Maria assures her guys that it’s fine.

Taya Valkyrie vs. Vertvixen

Johnny TV is here with Taya, who gets knocked to the floor to start. Taya drops her face first onto the apron and choking ensues back inside. Running knees in the corner give Taya two and we hit some posing. An STF sends Vertvixen over to the ropes and she hits a springboard kick to the face to cut Taya down. Taya isn’t having that and hits a curb stomp for the pin at 5:45.

Rating: C. I’m running out of ways to say “we’ve seen this kind of thing already” but here we are again and again. At least Taya is relatively new, but we’ve now seen her have three such matches in eight days. You can stretch some of these things out occasionally instead of just repeating stuff but that’s not the Ring Of Honor way.

Lee Moriarty and Shane Taylor are motivated by their losses and EVERYONE IS ON NOTICE.

Charlette Renegade vs. Rachael Ellering

Robyn Renegade is here with Charlette while Ellering has Maria Kanellis-Bennett and Leyla Hirsch. Ellering takes her to the mat to start but can’t tie up the limbs. Charlette fights up and they fight to the floor, where a cheap shot puts Ellering in trouble. Back in and Charlette stomps away, setting up a Muta Lock to keep up the pain. Ellering fights up and hits a Sling Blade into a backsplash, followed by a fall away slam for two. Hirsch and Robyn get into it on the floor….and Maria grabs Ellering’s leg. Then Ellering hits the Boss Woman Slam for the pin at 6:28.

Rating: C. Hey look: they’re still making Maria, one of the better managers they have available, do the same stuff that hasn’t been interesting for months. I’m sure this will lead to some big turning point in the story which will in no way be reversed a few weeks later. Other than that, a decent power match here, but the story has been moving in slow motion for months now and this didn’t help things.

Taya Valkyrie is happy with her win and Johnny TV calls Dalton Castle a pigeon instead of a peacock.

We look at Johnny TV costing Dalton Castle his chance at the TV Title at Final Battle.

Castle is crushed at his loss and blames Johnny TV. Vengeance is sworn as this is one of the few moving stories around here right now.

Outrunners vs. Action Andretti/Darius Martin vs. Infantry

Bravo, Andretti and Magnum start things off with a bit of posing. Some rapid tags give us Floyd vs. Andretti as apparently we’re going one on one here. Everything breaks down and the Outrunners are taken down, with Floyd being sent into Magnum in the corner. Dean misses a top rope splash though and the Outrunners get to stomp away.

A double slam gets two on Dean but Floyd gets crotched on top. That’s enough for Bravo to come in and clean house as everything breaks down. Boot Camp is broken up and Floyd gives Bravo a side slam. Floyd kicks Magnum low by mistake though, allowing Andretti to hit a running shooting star press for the pin at 8:22.

Rating: C+. As has been the case or weeks, this was a multi team match with one team managing to scramble and get a pin. As has been the case for nearly four months now, the Tag Team Titles are nowhere in sight, meaning these wins don’t really mean much. They can keep dangling the carrot of a Tag Team Title shot in front of all of these teams but it doesn’t matter if that carrot never actually comes to pass.

Maria Kanellis-Bennett is excited about the Women’s TV Title but Leyla Hirsch and Rachael Ellering come in to yell at her about what happened. Hirsch doesn’t want any part of this so Maria tells her to see how it goes without her help. Ellering and Hirsch both want the new title.

Spanish Announce Project/Griff Garrison/Cole Karter vs. Dalton Castle/The Boys/Gravity

Gravity and Serpentico start things off with Gravity working on the arm. The Boys come in for a double arm takedown but it’s of to Garrison to take over on Brent’s arm. Garrison gets slammed down though and the diving tag brings in Castle to clean house. A Serpentico cheap shot takes Castle down by the leg and the triple teaming is on. Castle is back up with a broken up Bang A Rang attempt, leaving Gravity and the Boys to hit stereo dives. The Bang A Rang finishes Garrison at 7:02.

Rating: C+. Another fun match as the show is at least picking up a bit near the end. Castle gets a win back after his loss at Final Battle, with the Johnny TV showdown on the way. Other than that, Garrison and Karter continue their up and down run as I continue to try to find out why they’re supposed to be interesting in the slightest.

Jack Cartwheel/Gringo Loco vs. El Hijo de Vikingo/Komander

Loco and Vikingo start things off with Vikingo flipping to his feet off a headscissors. The standoff means it’s of to Komander vs. Cartwheel, with neither being able to get anywhere. Komander sends Cartwheel to the floor but it’s too early for the dive. Instead they kick each other in the face for a double knockdown, meaning the others can come over. Back in and Cartwheel hits a slingshot splash for two, followed by a sliding dropkick into a reverse sitout powerbomb.

Cartwheel’s standing moonsault gets two but Komander is over for the tag off to Vikingo. Everything breaks down down and Vikingo hits the dive to the floor, only to miss a frog splash back inside. Vikingo is right back with a top rope legdrop to knock Cartwheel out of the ropes. Loco is back in with a torture rack faceplant to Vikingo but Komander is back in with a super poisonrana. Cielito Lindo finishes Loco at 9:22.

Rating: B-. They did save the best for last as this was another popcorn match with everyone going 80 miles per hour. Nothing else on the show was going to follow this and it gave the fans a big boost to wrap things up. Vikingo continues to be incredibly entertaining and Komander is good for some big spots while Loco and Cartwheel were fine opponents. Not a memorable match, but nice after the rather dull card leading up to it.

Overall Rating: C-. You might have heard me say this but it was the same stuff we always get. If not for the recaps, there would be no reason to believe that this was the follow up to the biggest show of the year. It was the same bunch of wrestlers trading opponents with most of the matches going longer than they needed to. The problem with this Ring Of Honor is still the same thing that it has been for the better part of ever: there is zero reason for the show to be this long with this many people included.

There were multiple matches that could have been dropped without any significant value being lost. These wrestlers’ careers are not going to fall apart if they’re not here eight out of nine weeks and just having them around again and again doesn’t make them more interesting. This was a very Ring Of Honor show and I mean that about as negatively as I can.

Results
Von Erichs b. Workhorsemen – Moonsault to Drake
Athena b. Mona World – O Face
Dante Martin b. Lee Johnson – Spinning full nelson slam
Lance Archer/Righteous b. Iron Savages/Jacked Jameson – Autumn Sunshine to Jameson
Taya Valkyrie b. Vertvixen – Curb stomp
Rachael Ellering b. Charlette Renegade – Boss Woman Slam
Action Andretti/Darius Martin b. Outrunners and Infantry – Running shooting star press to Floyd
Dalton Castle/The Boys/Gravity b. Spanish Announce Team/Griff Garrison/Cole Karter – Bang A Rang to Garrison
Komander/El Hijo de Vikingo b. Jack Cartwheel/Gringo Loco – Cielito Lindo to Loco

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

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Ring Of Honor
Date: December 14, 2023
Location: Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

It’s the go home show for Final Battle and there are only six matches set for the pay per view card. While the card will almost be guaranteed to be expanded, the question is whether the new matches will be announced tonight or if they will be thrown out there the day of the show. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Eddie Kingston vs. Evil Uno

Non-title Proving Ground match, meaning if Uno (with the Dark Order) wins or survives the ten minute time limit, he gets a future Ring Of Honor World Title shot. Granted I’m not sure how that works because of the Triple Crown deal but there is a good chance it won’t matter in the slightest. The fans are behind Uno (hometown villain) as Kingston rams him with a shoulder.

Uno snaps off a hurricanrana to send him outside but the hard chop only hits the post. Kingston goes after the arm but Uno snaps off a suplex as commentary points out that this is now for a shot at the Triple Crown Title. They chop it out again with Kingston getting the better of things until Uno elbows him in the face. Uno strikes him down and gets two off a twisting brainbuster. The piledriver gets two more but Kingston is back up with a pair of spinning backfists for the pin at 6:50.

Rating: C+. I’m no Uno fan but you could tell he was having a blast out there in front of his hometown fans and was putting in extra effort. At the same time though, Kingston hitting him in the face for the pin probably took away that energy. If only AEW/ROH had a huge roster with people Uno could have beaten for an easy win here instead of losing to the champ. Who doesn’t have his title and won’t be defending on the biggest show of the year because of the Modern American Triple Crown.

Respect is shown post match.

Leyla Hirsch vs. Katrina Creed

Rachael Ellering and Maria Kanellis-Bennett are here with Hirsch. Leyla takes her down by the leg to start before pulling her into an armbar. Creed misses a dropkick and gets gutwrench suplexed for two. Maria gets in a cheap shot and a suplex gives Leyla two more. Back up and Creed dropkicks her into the corner, only to have a spear cut off by a knee to the head to give Leyla the pin at 4:15.

Rating: C. The fans were into Creed here and the energy helped, but there was only so much to be gotten with Hirsch mainly wrecking her. The whole Hirsch/Ellering/Kanellis-Bennett deal isn’t interesting but we’re likely going to be seeing it go on for a good bit longer. Hirsch getting something to do is nice, but it would be nice if they actually picked up the pace.

The Outrunners are ready to rule the tag team division because if you haven’t seen them, you ain’t seen nothing yet. These guys are too fun.

Wheeler Yuta vs. Jason Geiger

Pure Rules Proving Ground match. Yuta takes him into the ropes a few times, with Geiger using a rope break. Back up and an exchange of shoulders gives us an exchange of knockdowns. A dropkick gives Yuta two, with Yuta leaning him into the ropes for the second break. Yuta ties up the legs so Geiger has to use his third rope break but Geiger’s kneebar sends Yuta over for his own rope break. That’s fine with Yuta, who grabs a guillotine choke in the ropes for the knockout at 4:24.

Rating: C. This was another match that was just shy of being a squash, as Yuta was only in the slightest bit of trouble near the end. The Pure Rules can go well, but I’m still not sure they need a full division and title around the concept. Granted the division is all of three or four people most of the time, but it’s one of those ideas that sounds cool but only works so well in execution.

Dalton Castle/The Boys vs. Iron Savages/Jacked Jameson

Castle and Bronson start things off with Castle easily getting the better of a wrestle off. The Boys come in and are rammed into each other, allowing the quick tag to Boulder. A double suplex drops the Boys and it’s Jameson coming in to power Brandon into the corner. Boulder drops him for two as well and the alternating beatings continue. Boulder drives Brandon into Bronson’s beard, but Castle goes over to steal the Savage Sauce.

In what can’t be a good idea, Castle drinks said sauce and an enziguri is enough to bring him in off the diving tag. Suplexes abound but Boulder is able to carry Castle and the Boys around at the same time without much trouble. The double Samoan drop/fall away slam connects but Castle is right back up and demands a Boy. Said Boy (and the other) are thrown onto the Savages, setting up the Bang A Rang to finish Jameson at 7:26.

Rating: C+. While this might not have exactly gone a long way towards building up Castle for his title shot tomorrow night, this is exactly the kind of fun match that I love seeing him have. Castle drinking the sauce and then going nuts was hilarious and he knows how to sell that kind of comedy as well as anyone. Very entertaining match, though it might have been better suited at any other time besides a day before Castle’s TV Title shot.

Post match Johnny TV comes out to the stage for a staredown with Castle.

Butcher and the Blade want to rip people and get titles.

Rachael Ellering vs. Taya Valkyrie

Leyla Hirsch, Maria Kanellis-Bennett and Johnny TV are all here too. They fight over arm control to start with neither being able to get very far. Ellering manages to send her outside though and that means it’s time for a meeting with TV. Back in and Ellering hammers away, meaning Valkyrie bails right back to the floor.

This time TV gets in the way and Valkyrie gets in a cheap shot to take over for the first time. The beatdown is on back inside but Valkyrie stops to dance, allowing Ellering to get in some shots to the face. A TKO gives Ellering two but Valkyrie’s spear is good for the same. Valkyrie curb stomps her for the pin at 6:49.

Rating: C+. This one was a bit strange as Valkyrie is a newcomer around here and she got a pretty definitive win over Ellering. While Ellering might not be a top level star, she’s certainly someone who has a bit of status. I could go for more Valkyrie, but I have a feeling this is going to be about Maria and company more than anything else, because that hasn’t gotten enough time to go around in circles yet.

Back at Collision, Ethan Page was disappointed by his loss to Kenny Omega but he wasn’t expecting bad ribs. Or five V Triggers for that matter. He had a lot of options but lost and now he has to get ready for Tony Nese at Final Battle in an I Quit. Omega beat him by pin, but he’s not giving up against Nese. Those words will not come out of his mouth…and here is Nese for the shouting match. Very fired up promo from Page here.

Cole Karter/Griff Garrison vs. Bobby Sharp/Shaun Moore

Maria Kanellis-Bennett is here with Karter/Garrison. Karter shakes Sharp’s hand to start but pulls him in, only to get caught with a dropkick. That earns Karter a hard clothesline and it’s off to Garrison for a drop down dropkick. The villains keep taking turns with the beating until Sharp flips over and brings in Moore. Not that it matters as some misdirection into a blind tag lets Garrison punch him down for the pin at 2:47. Pretty much a squash.

The Workhorsemen are ready for the four way.

Shane Taylor vs. Channing Decker

Lee Moriarty is here with Taylor. Decker slugs away to start and gets dropped with a clothesline for his efforts. Taylor unloads in the corner but charges into a boot to the face. A release Rock Bottom gets Taylor out of trouble and the Marcus Garvey Driver finishes Decker at 3:44.

Rating: C. Just a squash here before Taylor faces Keith Lee at Final Battle. That’s one of the first matches that feels like it is building towards a match at the pay per view, which says a lot when it was a match with no drama and went less than four minutes. Taylor vs. Lee might not be the biggest match, but it’s better than nothing, which sums up Ring Of Honor quite well at the moment.

Video on how we got to the Survival Of The Fittest match. We still don’t know the last entrant.

Righteous vs. Australian Take Over

Vincent gets caught with an early backbreaker from Julian Ward, meaning Kaz Jordan can come in and get caught in the wrong corner. Dutch comes in to whip him hard into the corner, allowing Vincent to pull him face first into the post. A missed charge staggers Dutch though and Kaz scores with a dropkick. Ward comes back in and is quickly taken down, with Kaz being sent outside. Autumn Sunshine finishes Ward at 4:35.

Rating: C. The night of pretty ok at best matches continues with another squash. They’re trying to set up the tag team division, but that is only going to last so long with the champions being nowhere in sight. At the same time, commentary keeps talking about Jake Roberts mentoring the Righteous. Wouldn’t it be nice to see them together again outside of that initial appearance?

The Infantry is ready for the four way tag, which will be a war.

Brian Cage vs. Gravity

Prince Nana is here with Cage, who powers Gravity into the corner to start. Some chops put Gravity down, allowing Cage to stand on his head for some extra pain. Back up and Gravity manages a double springboard hurricanrana, with Cage being sent outside. That means the big dive but Cage avoids the 450 back inside.

Cage is annoyed enough that he grabs a half nelson slam for two but the apron superplex is broken up. Instead Gravity grabs a crucifix bomb for two, only to have Cage come back with a flipping Downward Spiral for the same. Gravity drops him again though and the top rope splash gets two. Cage shrugs it off and hits a pop up powerbomb, setting up something like a Prism Trap for the win at 6:39.

Rating: C+. As usual, power vs. speed is one of those ideas that is almost impossible to screw up and they made it work here. Gravity knows how to fly around well enough and Cage knows how to throw people around with that rather impressive power. Not a classic by any means, but it was the entertaining match you would have expected.

Maria Kanellis-Bennett mocks Rachael Ellering for her loss but Leyla Hirsch tries to cheer Ellering us.

Infantry vs. Workhorsemen vs. Butcher and the Blade vs. Outrunners

Magnum runs Dean over with a shoulder to start but Bravo comes in for a jumping neckbreaker. Henry tags himself in but gets backed up to the ropes by Bravo. Another blind tag lets Drake come in for a neckbreaker, only to get into a slugout with the Butcher. An elbow to the face puts Drake down so it’s off to Magnum, who gets caught in a side slam/legdrop combination.

Back up and Floyd loads up a rather big bicep pose but Henry tags himself back in to take over on Blade. Floyd misses a bunch of right hands to just about everyone in the corner so Blade plants him with a DDT. Everything breaks down and an ax kick into a frog splash gives Bravo two on Floyd. Dean hits a big flip dive to the floor as commentary admits they have no idea who is legal. Not that it matters as Butcher and the Blade hit their powerbomb/neckbreaker combination to finish Floyd at 6:38.

Rating: B-. The match was quite energetic and they kept things moving throughout, which is the key to something like this. At the same time, and as has been the case for months now, almost none of this matters without the Tag Team Titles being a factor. If you have something for these teams to fight over then fine, but that hasn’t been the case for a good while and it’s starting to show.

Final Battle rundown.

Athena vs. Roxanne

Non-title Proving Ground match. Right hand ends Roxanne at 32 seconds.

Post match Billie Starkz runs in to go after Athena and the fight is on, with Starkz sending her into the barricade over and over. Starks sends her face first into various things and Athena looks to have a broken nose to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. The wrestling was good, but other than the main event and one or two other matches, this did next to nothing to make me care about Final Battle. This was their last chance to draw interest and they had a pretty much run of the mill show. There were a bunch of tag matches and near squashes, which don’t so much make me want to see Final Battle as much as want to see what’s on at the same time. I liked most of the wrestling well enough, but if this is the best they have to make me want to see Final Battle, they missed pretty hard.

Results
Eddie Kingston b. Evil Uno – Spinning backfist
Leyla Hirsch b. Katrina Creed – Knee to the head
Wheeler Yuta b. Jason Geiger – Guillotine choke
Dalton Castle/The Boys b. Iron Savages/Jacked Jameson – Bang A Rang to Jameson
Taya Valkyrie b. Rachael Ellering – Curb stomp
Cole Karter/Griff Garrison b. Bobby Sharpe/Shawn Moore – Right hand to Moore
Shane Taylor b. Channing Decker – Marcus Garvey Driver
Righteous b. Australian Take Over – Autumn Sunshine to Ward
Brian Cage b. Gravity – Prism Trap
Butcher and the Blade b. Outrunners, Infantry and Workhorsemen – Powerbomb/neckbreaker combination to Floyd

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

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

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

Opening sequence.

We run down the card.

Billie Starkz vs. Dani Mo

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

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

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

Johnny TV vs. Dalton Castle

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

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

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

Rachael Ellering vs. Nikki Victory

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

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

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

Infantry vs. Workhorsemen

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

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

Renegades vs. Trish Adora/Lady Frost

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

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

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

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

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

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

Righteous vs. Outrunners

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

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

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

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

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

Respect is shown post match.

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

Butcher and the Blade vs. The Boys

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

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

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

Christopher Daniels vs. Angelico

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Ring Of Honor
Date: November 30, 2023
Location: Wintrust Arena, Chicago, Illinois
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

So how do you follow up on Ronda Rousey making a surprise appearance last week and having a pretty solid match? There’s a good chance you don’t, as Rousey’s appearance seems to be a one off. In a way that might be a good thing though, as we have three shows left before Final Battle, meaning it’s probably time to mostly burn off a show before we get most of the card announced with about ten days before the pay per view. Let’s get to it.

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

Athena yells at Billie Starkz for last week’s loss but this week, she can make it up against Marina Shafir. With Starkz gone, Athena yells at Eddie Kingston, saying you can’t backfist her to the future because her back is heavy from carrying this place. Lexi Nair as a not great hype woman for Athena is great.

Opening sequence.

Eddie Kingston vs. Lee Johnson

Non-title Proving Ground match, meaning if Johnson wins or survives the ten minute time limit, he gets a shot….at the North American Triple Crown. Well that closes a bit of a loophole. Feeling out process to start as the fans are behind Kingston. Johnson has to flip out of a wristlock to give us a standoff. Kingston snaps off a belly to belly for two and another suplex gets another two.

A DDT gives Johnson a breather but Kingston elbows his way out of a suplex attempt. Kingston’s t-bone suplex gets two more, only to have Johnson come back with a neckbreaker. The frog splash gives Johnson two of his own and that’s enough for Kingston, who snaps off a half dragon suplex. The backfist finishes Johnson at 6:30.

Rating: C. What matters most here is Kingston actually wrestling on this show on something of a regular basis. The show felt like nothing with the champions mostly missing so it’s very nice to have the top star around. That being said, it’s not quite as good with the title basically held in limbo until the end of the Continental Classic, but I can’t imagine ROH was high on the list of priorities when the tournament was announced.

The Boys vs. The Infantry

Bravo and Brent fight over wrist control to start until Brent snaps off some armdrags into an armbar. The Boys pick up the pace with a enziguri into a Backstabber for two. Bravo manages a block though and it’s Dean coming in to…well actually get armdragged a few times as well. An atomic drop gives Brandon two as everything breaks down. We settle down to Brandon getting stomped down in the corner until a roll over allows Brent to come back in. That doesn’t last long though as Boot Camp finishes Brent at 5:49.

Rating: C+. It was a fast paced match, though I couldn’t help but chuckle at commentary trying to say this might play into the Tag Team Title picture. They’re right in that it could, though there is no reason to believe that it will for a good while. The lack of having the titles around makes these tag matches feel a lot less important and that’s never a good sign.

Rachael Ellering says Leyla Hirsch’s knee is healing….and here is Maria Kanellis-Bennett to interrupt. Maria says Leyla is in good spirits but Ellering wants to know why Maria was talking to the Renegades last week. Leyla comes in to ask if one of them will have her back this week. Maria and Ellering: “Yes.”

Emi Sakura vs. Trish Adora

A collision goes nowhere to start so they try it again, with Adora knocking her down. Sakura is right back with a drop toehold into the ropes though and some chops have Adora’s eyes bugging out. The surfboard has Adora in more trouble but she’s right back up with a Bully Bomb. They chop it out again until Adora boots her in the ace for two. The Lariat Tubman connects but Sakura rolls to the ropes in a smart move. Sakura’s elbow to the face gives her two of her own and the butterfly backbreaker finishes Adora at 4:32.

Rating: C+. It was a hard hitting match and that’s the best thing you can ask for from this kind of a match. Neither of them have much going at the moment and that doesn’t give them a ton to work with in the match. The good thing is that both of them got in enough to look strong and it was a nice match as a result.

Leyla Hirsch vs. Heather Reckless

Maria Kanellis-Bennett and Rachael Ellering are here with Hirsch. Reckless is actually shorter than Hirsch and commentary says that isn’t something you see very often. Hirsch powers her down to start without much effort and a backbreaker puts Reckless down again. A suplex into a release suplex sets up the cross armbreaker to finish Reckless at 2:08. Total squash.

Post match Hirsch leaves on her own, as commentary pushes the idea of her needing to choose a side. Well at least that’s something.

Willie Mack vs. Robert Anthony

Mack snaps off some armdrags to start but Anthony elbows him in the face to take over. Some elbows have Mack down again but Mack is right back with a swinging slam. A sitout powerbomb finishes Anthony off at 3:10.

Rating: C. Not much to this one but it’s nice to see Mack getting a win for a change. He’s been beaten so many times in recent months that he needs a win like this to rebound a bit. Mack is more or less a glorified jobber to the stars around here but that might be his ceiling unless he is given the chance to do something else. This won’t be the big change, though it’s better than another loss.

Billie Starkz vs. Marina Shafir

Shafir shoves her out to the floor to start, leaving Starkz to do some jumping jacks. Back in and Shafir hits some knees to the ribs, only to get shoved outside instead. This time Starkz rips at Shafir’s face and snaps off a suplex to keep Shafir in trouble. The Swanton is broken up so Starkz kicks her in the head and grabs a German suplex for two. A hard forearm knocks Shafir silly but she’s back with a kick to the head for two of her own. Shafir ties her up in a nasty arm/leg twist until Starkz kicks her way to freedom. The Swanton only hits raised knees and Shafir plants her for two more. Starkz manages to come back with Gory Bomb and the Swanton connects for another near fall. Starkz’ End (arm trap faceplant) finishes Shafir at 8:13.

Rating: B-. They had a good fight here and it’s nice to see Starkz getting one of the biggest singles wins of her career. It still seems like she is perfect for the title shot at Final Battle but for some reason we haven’t gotten there yet. For now though, it’s nice to see her get a win, though it needs to lead somewhere.

Post match Starkz attacks her again so here are Athena and Lexi Nair, the latter in a graduation cap and gown, for their Minion In Training graduation ceremony. Athena introduces the valedictorian, who sucked when Athena met her but got better: Lexi Nair! She gets a Minion shirt and is now known as Minion: Bestie! Commentary mocks the two of them for their attire (Nair in red and Starkz in yellow, meaning we get ketchup and mustard chants) as Nair is rather pleased, while Starkz is wished the best in her future endeavors.

Starkz yells at Athena, who tells her to back down. Athena gets her way again….but then Starkz decks her and grabs the title. I’m not sure if “I turned you evil, but you’re not evil enough” is an all time face turn but it seems we’re FINALLY getting to the match that has been building for months.

Survival Of The Fittest Qualifying Match: Evil Uno vs. Dalton Castle

The Boys are here too. Feeling out process to start with Castle chopping away but getting sent to the floor. That means a fanning off, followed by Uno offering him some free chops. Instead Castle drops him with a running clothesline, followed by a standing splash to send Uno outside. Back in and Uno scores with a backbreaker and, after blocking a Bang A Rang, send Castle outside for a change. This time Uno decks the Boys, which is enough of a distraction for Castle to hit a suplex. The reverse Sling Blade sets up the Bang A Rang to finish Uno at 7:27.

Rating: C. While I wasn’t going to buy Uno as a serious threat to beat Uno, this could have been a lot worse. Uno made Castle work for the win, which sends him on to the match that he should absolutely be in. Castle should be a favorite to win the title as he has been building to it for months. Nice enough match, even with a not so shocking ending.

Tony Khan congratulates Lexi Nair on her graduation when Billie Starkz comes in. Starkz wants a shot at Athena so she is given the Final Battle shot. So what was Khan there to announce?

Brandon Cutler/Colt Cabana vs. GPA/Trevor Outlaw

Cabana and GPA grapple around to start until Cutler comes in for a double hiptoss. Cutler’s neckbreaker drops GPA again but he’s back with a jawbreaker to put Cutler down for a change. The villains take over on Cutler in the corner but he kicks his way to freedom. Cabana comes in to clean house and it’s a side slam/STO combination to finish GPA at 4:31.

Rating: C. I’m assuming that this was the match designed to warm up the crowd, because AEW fans are well known for being quiet and uninterested until someone steps in to wake them up. Cabana and Cutler aren’t likely to be much more than a low level team, if they are anything at that, but at least it wasn’t anything taking up much time here.

Survival Of The Fittest Qualifying Match: Komander vs. Gringo Loco

Loco flips away from him to start and gets taken down by the arm for his efforts. Komander sends him outside, where Loco chops away at him and gets in a posting for two back inside. Loco misses a dropkick though and gets catapulted to the floor, setting up the big flip dive. Back in and a springboard 450 gives Komander two, followed by a hurricanrana driver for the same.

They go to the apron, where Komander’s hurricanrana is countered into a hard powerbomb. Back in and they go to the top, with something like an inverted super Spanish Fly planting Komander hard. Loco misses a springboard moonsault though and gets kicked in the head. A backbreaker into Cielito Lindo sends Komander to Final Battle at 11:03.

Rating: B-. You know all the times where some of the luchadors have gone out there and had an entertaining match for a little while? Well this is the most recent edition, though at least there was something on the line for a change. Komander being in a multi-person match is no surprise, though at least Loco got a chance to shine again as well.

Respect is shown post match.

Tony Nese and Mark Sterling demand that Jerry Lynn (hey he still works here) let Sterling be at ringside for Nese vs. Ethan Page. Works for Lynn, though Sterling will be handcuffed to the post.

La Faccion Ingobernable vs. Spanish Announce Project

Dralistico and Preston Vance for the Faccion. Dralistico and Serpentico start things off with an exchange of chops. Stereo flip ups to their feet mean it’s off to Vance vs. Angelico for a change. Serpentico comes in to stomp on the arm but Vance fights up without much trouble. It’s back to Dralistico to go after Serpentico’s arm, followed by an exchange of Canadian Destroyers. Angelico comes back in to kick Vance in the head but the leglock is broken up. Dralistico makes the save and hits a springboard Codebreaker into Vance’s discus lariat for the pin at 8:04.

Rating: C. This was the most nothing match I can remember in a very long time. It was a pair of low level teams having a completely average match that won’t change much of anything they’re doing going forward. This is a show that could have been dropped from a show that is running about two hours and fifteen minutes without missing much and that’s not a good sign. Also, it’s nice to see Angelico right back where he was a month and a half ago after building him into something a bit more interesting.

Nyla Rose vs. Zoey Lynn

Lynn tries to jump her to start and gets taken into the corner for her efforts. A running elbow knocks Lynn silly but she manages to strike away. Rose doesn’t mind and knocks her out of the air, setting up a chokeslam and the Beast Bomb for the pin at 3:03.

Rating: C. This was Rose’s Ring Of Honor debut and she did what she has done several times in AEW. It was a total squash and did just fine, but it’s a match that could have been postponed to next week and taken away from an already long show. Rose in Ring Of Honor is better than no Rose at all, but dang this show is getting longer and longer and that isn’t helping things.

Iron Savages vs. Butcher and the Blade

Bronson wants Butcher and is driven into the corner for his efforts. A running shoulder works a bit better for Bronson so it’s off to Blade, who is sent face first into Boulder’s chest. Boulder comes in and muscles Blade up for a suplex. A discussion of Savage Sauce takes too long though and it’s Bronson getting caught in the corner for a change. Everything breaks down and Butcher hammers away on Boulder, who is back with a kick to the face. A splash gives Boulder two but the electric chair splash is broken up. The powerbomb/neckbreaker combination finishes Bronson at 6:37.

Rating: C+. It was a nice power match and it’s good to see Butcher and the Blade get a win for once. Much like Rose, if they aren’t doing anything in AEW, put them in ROH and see if they can do anything here. The Savages continue to be a fun team who never win much of anything and their value is only going to last so long.

Brian Cage vs. Action Andretti

Prince Nana is here with Cage. Andretti tries to pick up the pace to start but can’t get very far with a tornado DDT attempt. Instead Andretti kicks him in the face, only to get sent hard to the floor. Back in and we hit the chinlock, followed by a quick belly to belly. Andretti fights up and strikes away, setting up a springboard clothesline.

Cage grabs a reverse suplex faceplant (that’s a new one) and the apron superplex gets two. Andretti is right back with the tornado DDT but has to fight out o Weapon X. The torture rack neckbreaker drops Cage and the standing shooting star press gets two more. Nana offers a distraction though and a powerbomb into Weapon X finishes Andretti at 10:21.

Rating: C+. Power vs. speed worked as usual here, which is something that Ring Of Honor certainly seems to understand. Cage is the bigger star, though I’m still not quite sure what the point is in having he and the Gates of Agony win the Six Man Tag Team Titles when the Gates were on their way to Japan for the World Tag League. Not much of a main event here, but it could have been worse.

Overall Rating: C-. This is a show where the problems are entirely in the presentation and not in the wrestling. The matches themselves ranged from good to decent, but there were thirteen matches on this show and three of them felt like they had any kind of impact. Other than that, it was a bunch of stuff that was put on the card seemingly or no other reason than to extend the show. It wasn’t a fun show to watch and most of it feels like it could have been heavily trimmed down or cut entirely. Rather bad presentation and a waste of some good action.

Results
Eddie Kingston b. Lee Johnson – Spinning backfist
The Infantry b. The Boys – Boot Camp to Brent
Emi Sakura b. Trish Adora – Butterfly backbreaker
Leyla Hirsch b. Heather Reckless – Cross armbreaker
Willie Mack b. Robert Anthony – Sitout powerbomb
Billie Starkz b. Marina Shafir – Starkz’ End
Dalton Castle b. Evil Uno – Bang A Rang
Brandon Cutler/Colt Cabana b. GPA/Trevor Outlaw – Side slam/STO combination to GPA
Komander b. Gringo Loco – Cielito Lindo
La Faccion Ingobernable b. Spanish Announce Project – Discus lariat to Serpentico
Nyla Rose b. Zoey Lynn – Beast Bomb
Butcher and the Blade b. Iron Savages – Powerbomb/neckbreaker combination to Bronson
Brian Cage b. Action Andretti – Weapon X

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

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Collision
Date: November 25, 2023
Location: Petersen Events Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness, Kevin Kelly

It’s time for the second half of the first week of the Continental Classic and in this case we’re going to see a few more matches that look rather strong on paper. Other than that, Adam Copeland is here with something to say, which will likely be about Christian Cage. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Eddie Kingston, Brody King and Daniel Garcia are ready to fight.

Opening sequence.

We get a quick look at the Continental Classic rules:

20 minute time limits
3 points for a win
1 point for a draw

Everyone else is banned from ringside.

Continental Classic Blue League: Claudio Castagnoli vs. Daniel Garcia

Castagnoli runs him over fast to start but Garcia is back with a quickly broken guillotine choke. Garcia tries to slug away and is quickly dropped with an uppercut. With that not working, Garcia manages to send him to the apron for a knock into the barricade. This doesn’t seem to please Castagnoli, who swings him into the barricade over and over to take over.

We take a break and come back with Garcia grabbing another guillotine choke, followed by a sleeper. Castagnoli fights out of that as well as an ankle lock before running Garcia over. The Riccola Bomb is countered but Castagnoli reverses the counter in the Sharpshooter. With that broken up, Garcia makes the fired up comeback, only to get dropped with an uppercut. Now the Riccola Bomb can finish for Castagnoli at 10:26.

Rating: C+. This didn’t have much to go off of as it was mainly Castagnoli beating Garcia up and then doing it again until he could get the win. Garcia continues to be someone who seems to be a project but at some point he has to win something. That isn’t likely to be the case here though as Garcia is likely to be a tackling dummy for his entire block. Castagnoli making a big run wouldn’t be a surprise though and they have made their first step in that direction.

Blue League Standings
Claudio Castagnoli – 3 points (4 matches remaining)
Bryan Danielson – 0 points (5 matches remaining)
Brody King – 0 points (5 matches remaining)
Andrade El Idolo – 0 points (5 matches remaining)
Eddie Kingston – 0 points (5 matches remaining)
Daniel Garcia – 0 points (4 matches remaining)

Post match Wheeler Yuta comes in to congratulate Castagnoli.

Eddie Kingston doesn’t want to talk but has to do it to avoid being fined. He’s putting his titles on the line in the tournament because he’s done what he wanted by wrestling in Japan.

Killswitch vs. The Boys

One Boy is chokeslammed onto the apron and the other is clotheslined hard in the back of the head for the pin at 1:22.

Post match Brandon gets chokeslammed through a chair but cue Adam Copeland for the save with a chair of his own. A piece of the chair is broken off so Edge can choke him out in the crossface. The Conchairto…doesn’t leave Killswitch laying so Copeland stomps him head first into the chair. Another Conchairto leaves Killswitch laying.

Post break Copeland goes on a heck of a rant against Christian Cage, who is so insecure about Copeland being here. From now on, Copeland is hunting Cage and is even challenging him for the TNT Title on December 6 in Montreal.

Malakai Black/Buddy Matthews vs. Gravity/Komander

Somehow this is the first time Black and Matthews have teamed on their own in AEW. Matthews and Gravity get things going as Nigel gets annoyed at the other commentators talking about ANYTHING but Adam Copeland threatening Christian Cage. With Matthews not being able to do much, Black comes in to strike away. Komander’s hurricanrana takes Black down but he plants Komander as we take a break.

Back with Komander hitting a jawbreaker but not being able to dive over to Gravity. The tag goes through a few seconds later as Gravity comes in with a high crossbody to both of them. Black knees the heck out of Gravity but Komander is back in to pick up the pace. Cielito Lindo is loaded up but Matthews offers a distraction.

Everything breaks down and the House is sent to the floor, where they pull Gravity’s dive out of the air. Gravity manages to get back to the apron though, leaving Komander to walk the ropes to dive onto the House instead. Back in and a pair of top rope dives hit raised knees and a bunch of knees have the good guys down. Black sits down so Komander can crawl over to him, allowing Matthews to hit the Stomp for the pin at 11:18.

Rating: B-. I liked this well enough as Black and Matthews are kind of a unique team. It was nice to see them get out there and wreck some people, even if it took some time to get there. What matters is getting the House some momentum, and it’s not like Komander and Gravity are going to take long to get back to where they were before.

Darius Martin and Action Andretti…are cut off by an NBA commercial, but they come back to reveal the returning Dante Martin.

TBS Title: Julia Hart vs. Lady Frost

Hart is defending under House Rules and the chosen stipulation is….no countouts. They fight over a lockup to start with Frost taking her into the corner but having what looked to be a slap easily blocked. They take turns dodging each other until Hart drops to the floor for a trip onto the apron. Hart rams her into the apron and it’s time to grab a chair. The referee breaks that up so Hart superkicks her into the chair instead. They go onto the ramp where Hart hits a running clothesline to knock her out of the chair. Back in and Frost kicks her in the head but gets kind of choke shoved. Hartless retains the title at 5:07.

Rating: C. What a weird match this was, as Frost has barely been a thing in AEW and picked a rather bizarre stipulation. It’s not like AEW really does much without countouts anyway so this was almost just a way to explain why they were fighting on the floor. Hart never felt like she was in danger and it didn’t exactly feel like the most important match.

Don Callis, with Powerhouse Hobbs, doesn’t understand how Chris Jericho and Kenny Omega got a Tag Team Title shot. Hobbs implies he can beat Omega and Jericho on his own.

FTR vs. The Righteous

Vincent hammers on Wheeler in the corner to start but Wheeler is up with an elbow to the face. Harwood comes in and gets elbowed down as well, followed by a heck of a clothesline from Dutch. Harwood’s springboard is knocked out of the air but he manages to clothesline Dutch outside. Vincent follows his partner and we take a break.

Back with Harwood fighting out of a chinlock but Dutch cuts him down again. A powerbomb puts Harwood down, only to have Dutch miss a middle rope backsplash. Harwood slides between Vince’s legs and brings Wheeler in to pick up the pace. A series of standing switches lets Vincent tag Dutch, who is knocked outside. Vincent gets tagged back in and the Shatter Machine finishes for Harwood at 9:12.

Rating: B-. There was no Jake Roberts here with the Righteous so the experiment is either over or AEW is not that interested in making it a success. FTR got a nice win here, or at least whatever they can get out of beating the Righteous. I’m not sure what is next for FTR, but it doesn’t feel like they’re going to be near the titles anytime soon. Granted they’ve been there enough lately that they might not need to be.

Post match the House Of Black says there is no one to save FTR, meaning no Wheeler Yuta or CM Punk. Malakai Black says this isn’t a brotherhood and the lights go out, with the House disappearing.

We see the full Action Andretti/Top Flight promos, which more or less says they need Dante to complete the team.

We look at Big Bill and Ricky Starks attacking Chris Jericho, with his bad arm, after Full Gear.

Here are Ricky Starks and Big Bill for a chat. Starks talks about how he was expecting more of a fight from the challengers at Full Gear. For now though, he isn’t surprised that Chris Jericho is back, but now he has a challenger. Starks and Bill say they don’t know each other (Starks: “Bill, what’s my birthday?” Bill: “No idea.” Starks: “See?”) but Starks talks about Bill being a monster.

Bill talks about his health issues and always believing that he would be back at the top. They’re going to beat up Omega and Jericho and we hear about a variety of NBA duos. Bill lists off a bunch of Chicago Bulls but he only Jericho and Omega as the guys who hand Michael Jordan his gum. Starks doesn’t know who those players are, but he likes what Bill is saying. These guys work well together and that exchange about the birthday was funny.

The winners from the Gold League matches on Dynamite are happy and ready to keep going.

Keith Lee vs. Lee Moriarty

They miss a bunch of strikes to start until Keith knocks him down without much effort. There’s the Pounce to send Moriarty down and us to a break. Back with Moriarty striking away before grabbing an armbar. Keith powers his way out and uses the good arm for a hard clothesline. Moriarty hits a middle rope bulldog but a kick to the head is easily blocked. Keith headbutts him out of the air and the Big Bang Catastrophe finishes Moriarty at 7:21.

Rating: C. Keith continues to be someone who is just kind of floating around doing nothing important. I’m not sure why that is, but he is definitely not the same star he was before his health issues came up. For now though, at least he is on TV and winning, but it would be nice to have him do something of note.

Post break Keith Lee says he was going to praise Lee Moriarty but instead he would rather talk about his lack of opportunity. He is coming for someone, but won’t say who. They know who he means though.

Continental Classic Blue League: Brody King vs. Eddie Kingston

Kingston’s titles aren’t on the line. A headlock and some shoulders have no effect on King so they chop it out, which is more to Kingston’s liking. King knocks him into the corner for the Cannonball and Kingston needs a breather on the floor. Another chop off goes to King but he drop toeholds a charging King into the steps. King is fine enough to hit a crossbody against the barricade as this is following the NO COUNTOUTS idea from the TBS Title match earlier. Back in and King hits a running backsplash as we take a break.

We come back with King grabbing a superplex, leaving Kingston to collapse on a whip into the corner. Kingston manages a desperation clothesline and now the rapid fire chops in the corner can connect. The spinning backfist out of nowhere gives Kingston two and they chop it out, complete with a lot of cringing.

Kingston’s DDT gets two but King is back with something like a Boss Man Slam. Kingston is back up with a half and half suplex and a Saito suplex gets two. King gets a piledriver for two, which shouldn’t have counted anyway as the foot was underneath the rope. Kingston snaps off a spinning backfist but King lists him up for a sitout powerbomb and the pin at 16:43.

Rating: B. I could see this one getting some mixed reviews, as they beat each other up but it wasn’t exactly the smoothest looking match. This was about two guys beating each other up and they did it rather well. That being said, it’s more than a bit disappointing to see Kingston fight so hard to get to the Ring Of Honor World Title and then have the title reigns disrupted over this tournament. It just feels unnecessary, but here we are anyway.

Blue League Standings
Claudio Castagnoli – 3 points (4 matches remaining)
Brody King – 3 points (4 matches remaining)
Bryan Danielson – 0 points (5 matches remaining)
Andrade El Idolo – 0 points (5 matches remaining)
Eddie Kingston – 0 points (4 matches remaining)
Daniel Garcia – 0 points (4 matches remaining)

Overall Rating: B-. This was the House Of Black show and that stuff worked well enough, but it wasn’t exactly a thrilling edition otherwise. As was the case last week, having Rampage and Collision back to back hurts the last hour out of the three as I’m ready for a break from AEW by that point. The tournament stuff gives the show a bit more structure, but that might lose its charm in a few weeks. Not a bad show at all, but it didn’t feel important, as has been the case most of the time in recent weeks, if not months.

Results
Claudio Castagnoli b. Daniel Garcia – Riccola Bomb
Killswitch b. The Boys – Clothesline to the back of Brandon’s head
Malakai Black/Buddy Matthews b. Gravity/Komander – Stomp to Komander
Julia Hart b. Lady Frost – Hartless
FTR b. The Righteous – Shatter Machine to Vincent
Keith Lee b. Lee Moriarty – Big Bang Catastrophe
Brody King b. Eddie Kingston – Sitout powerbomb

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

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

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

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

Opening sequence.

The announcers preview the show.

Peter Avalon vs. Trent Beretta

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

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

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

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

Outrunners vs. Jacoby Watts/Sebastian Wolf

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

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

Emi Sakura vs. Kel

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

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

Bollywood Boyz vs. The Boys

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

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

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

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

Billie Starkz/Athena vs. Brooke Havok/Johnnie Robbie

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

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

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

Renegades vs. Leyla Hirsch/Rachael Ellering

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

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

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

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

Marina Shafir vs. Amira

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

Final Battle ad.

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

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

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

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

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

Respect is shown post match.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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AND

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