McXal's Reviews

I found myself really enjoying Episode 2 of 'Honor Club TV'. I actually went back to re-watch both Yuta/Thatcher and Athena/Willow over the weekend, such was my enjoyment of both bouts. To be blunt, I don't think the card this week is anything like as strong, and - on paper - looks to have reverted back to the format I didn't like from Episode 1 (too many short, meaningless filler bouts)...but the quality of last week means I'm still tuning in with some anticipation and hoping for something to surprise me. The headline bout and main event will see Wheeler Yuta defend his Pure Title for the second consecutive week, this time against Clark Connors of NJPW Strong. Dalton Castle & The Boys look to regain the Six-Man Titles that The Embassy took from them at Final Battle, and elsewhere Proving Ground bouts are the order of the day as Hyan and Willie Mack step up to Athena and Claudio Castagnoli respectively with a potential future shot at the ROH Women's or Men's World Championship up for grabs. We are, again, taped at Universal Studios in Orlando, FL with Ian Riccaboni and Caprice Coleman calling the action.

As advised during my introduction, this is a Proving Ground Match meaning if Willie can win or take it to a time-limit draw he will be rewarded with a future title shot. Interestingly this is Mack's first ROH appearance since Bound By Honor 2019, although he also worked the NWA/ROH cross-promoted Crockett Cup 2019 show (where he quickly dropped the NWA International Title on his way out of NWA and to Impact). Since leaving Impact midway through 2022, Willie has worked as a freelancer - making appearances in AAA, GCW, NJPW Strong, UWN, MLW, CZW as well as a couple of AEW matches. Presumably the fact that he isn't documented as signed with AEW/ROH is why he is having to enter the Proving Ground whilst the likes of AR Fox, Blake Christian, Josh Woods, Christopher Daniels, Ari Daivari and more have all gotten pretty undeserved title shots in the last twelve months (more if you count guys who challenged Jericho simply on the basis that they were former ROH title holders...)

Claudio understandably tries to grapple with Mack, thinking that his technical prowess is what will give him the edge. They mess up running the ropes a little, largely because Willie is such a big, unorthodox mover that Castagnoli struggles to stay out of his way. Mack dumps the champ to the floor and poses to the audience...and greets him on his return to the ring with a running rana. A running knee strike gets a nearfall and Claudio has to fight like hell to evade an exploder suplex. He pummels Mack with elbows and uppercuts in the corner and again tries to ground his opponent with submission holds. Mack is still too big and powerful; muscling out of the champ's clutches and drilling him with a Samoan drop. Caprice points out that Claudio's approach is working though, as Willie needs a prolonged period of recovery before FINALLY nipping up into the standing moonsault. They trade bombs in the middle of the ring; an exchange which Mack again wins - this time with his version of the Sky High. Frog Splash misses though, and Claudio charges with a RUNNING UPPERCUT! Claudio wins at 07:12

Rating - *** - It helps that I'm a fan of both guys, but this really was a punchy little opening match. I thought they told a really compact story, with Willie's completely unique size and style causing Castagnoli visible problems...but the Blackpool Combat Club member eventually pushing through to a convincing victory. Willie is well on his way to 40 years old now and isn't quite the performer he once was, but he has a wealth of experience (both on the indies and of working short, televised matches like this) so easily held his own here. 

Last week we heard from The Kingdom, who conveyed their irritation that they were beaten by Top Flight on their return to ROH at Final Battle. That night was a fine ROH debut for the Martin brothers, and they return this week with Dante in singles action against Bennett - who is coming for some payback. Both Matt Taven and Maria are in Mike's corner, so Dante sensibly brings his brother Darius to ringside as well.

Mike tries to establish control by working fundamentals but is confronted by a motivated, competent and dangerous opponent who matches (even betters) him every step of the way. Dante out-strikes Bennett as well, knocking him straight out of the ring with a dropkick then clearing him out again with a pescado seconds later. He heaves the former Tag Champion into the ring-steps, but is momentarily distracted by Maria and walks into a rebound elbow by Bennett. PILEDRIVER ON THE ENTRANCE RAMP! Dante needs most of the twenty-count to get back into the ring...walking into some frenzied strikes to the shoulder followed by a hammerlock DDT. Bennett smells blood, but Martin BACK FLIPS over him before nailing a roundhouse kick. SPRINGBOARD ARM-SELLING CROSSBODY gets 2! PACKAGE POWERBOMB gets 2 as well! Ian and Caprice give some nice context to that by talking about Bennett's previous battles in ROH with Kevin Steen. Bennett charges with a Spear, straight into a DVD. London Dungeon applied, devastating Martin's shoulder again and causing him to scream in pain. Dante nurses the arm as he chases Mike up the turnbuckles...and he COUNTERS an attempted avalanche TKO by Bennett into a frankensteiner! FROG SPLASH! FOR 2! Martin charges, so Bennett COUNTERS him into a kimura! Only for Martin to somersault through into a bridging pin forcing Mike to release it. Half Nelson slam by Martin, giving him the pinfall victory at 10:03

Rating - **** - I wish the finish had been a move less-reliant on Dante's injured shoulder after they'd made it such a focal point of the match, but this was really good. I thought Top Flight looked made for Ring Of Honor when they appeared at Final Battle, and this promotion could be a great place for Tony Khan to let them grow and develop whilst the tag team scene on AEW programming is so crowded. This was a terrific sprint; all action from the opening bell, packing in some amazing spots, a compelling babyface performance from Martin and the kind of dependable, veteran, grounded performance from Bennett which I think will mean he and Taven continue to play a vital role in the establishment of this 'new' ROH brand. I certainly didn't have any great expectations for this, but it completely delivered as a fun TV-length bout. 

Matt Taven jumps Dante from behind before he has a chance to celebrate, then quickly bails with Bennett before Darius can come to his brother's aid. Top Flight continue to have The OGK's number it seems...and The Kingdom aren't happy about it.

Last week we saw Daivari of the Trust Busters boast about his (tainted) victory over Metalik on Episode 1. The luchador took offence, and was saved from an assault at the hands of Daivari, Slim J and Mark Sterling by Blake Christian. Blake and Metalik have apparently formed a pairing based on the mutual respect forged during their time working NJPW Strong together. Tonight they team in ROH for the first time, looking to punish the Trust Busters for their actions across the first two weeks of Honor Club TV.

Both Christian and Metalik get the better of Daivari in the early-going. It is only when Slim is able to momentarily distract Metalik that the Trust Busters are able to gain a foothold in the contest. Ari quickly drags the luchador into their corner to work him over. After a couple of minutes of that Christian gets a much-needed tag and quickly clears the ring of both opponents. J trips him as he sets up a dive though, then gives him a body slam on the hard floor. That was undeniably smart tag team wrestling by the Trust Busters, who showed their marginal experience edge working as a team there. They join forces to work Blake over just has they had to Metalik. Christian eventually lands a desperate (but beautiful) handspring corkscrew enzi before leaping into a hot tag to Metalik. Slim meets him with a dropkick out of mid-air though...but misses a moonsault seconds later. Moonsault in response by Metalik gets 2. RUNNING MOONSAULT TO THE FLOOR by Christian! Metalik Driver on Slim J! Metalik wins at 08:50

Rating - ** - This was perfectly decent, albeit considerably less interesting and enjoyable than the first two matches on the show. I'm unclear why we've had to watch the Trust Busters wrestle on every single episode thus far, whilst multiple substantially more interesting acts booked for the weekend have made just a single appearance (or not even made an appearance yet). But I don't want to be too down on this match because there wasn't much wrong with it. The finishing stretch was exciting and the Trust Busters did a fine job as a heel tag team. 

A video package documents the history of the rivalry between Samoa Joe and the Briscoes, and covers Mark Briscoe's long-held 'dream' of becoming ROH TV Champion. Joe and Mark meet for the TV Title at Supercard Of Honor...

Mark himself gets some promo time, and puts Samoa Joe to the back of his mind for now as he is frustrated at Mark Sterling and associates for continually interjecting themselves into Briscoe business. He's already beaten Josh Woods, and next week he is coming to defeat Tony Nese as well...

Cut to MORE Mark Briscoe, now with clips from AEW Rampage, where he announced the 'Reach For The Sky' Ladder Match to crown new ROH Tag Champions at Supercard Of Honor. Multiple teams will enter, the first of which are Pentagon & Rey Fenix.

Jeeves Kay is seemingly such an irrelevant part of the Trustbusters that there is no Mark Sterling, Slim J or Ari Daivari out with him. He faces the Mad King in the midst of a rampage into ROH as Eddie seeks a World Title showdown with Claudio Castagnoli - despite Double C refusing his challenge for now...

As the two men lock up a smiling Claudio Castagnoli strolls out to take a seat in the crowd. Kingston is immediately distracted by the champ's presence, but continues to beat on Kay - eventually throwing him into the guardrails in front of him with such force that Claudio's coffee spills all over his shirt. Jeeves tries to capitalise with a frog splash...but seconds later Eddie plants him with the Back Drop Driver then taps him out to the Stretch Plum at 02:34

Rating - N/A - Short, and largely only here to continue the build to the inevitable Claudio/Eddie title match. I don't think ROH have done enough to explain why Kingston is having to jump through hoops to get a title shot (despite having been a prominent part of AEW television for the last year) whilst other wrestlers have been given them without much qualification - but I appreciate that they are trying to tell a story with this and cultivate some anticipation for their potential PPV match.

The Trustbusters (seriously, ENOUGH of these guys already) protest their loss to Metalik and Blake Christian earlier in the show, with Mark Sterling having filed an injunction to have the result thrown out. Daviari challenges Metalik and Blake to find a partner to face he, Slim J and Jeeves in a trios match next week...

This is a Proving Ground Match like Claudio/Mack earlier, meaning Hyan can earn a Women's Title shot here. She made occasional appearances during the 2021 ROH women's wrestling renaissance and has continued to work all around the world in an effort to develop her skills. She is certainly not an inexperienced rookie that the impressive champion can simply push around. And is Athena at 100% after enduring an incredibly physical battle with Willow Nightingale just last week?

ELBOW STRIKE by Athena, absolutely flooring Hyan inside five seconds! She amuses herself torturing Hyan with a barrage of strikes and stretches...but finds her opponent tough and experienced enough to survive the early onslaught and return fire with a series of kicks. Chokeslam by Athena...and she doesn't let go of the throat before repeatedly bouncing Hyan's skull off the canvas. Hyan again shows tenacity; flying out of the corner with a running crossbody and a big leg drop for 2. SUNSET FLIP BOMB OFF THE APRON BY ATHENA! Not content with that, she smashes her into the steel ring-steps as well. Crossface applied, forcing Hyan to tap out in 04:43

Rating - ** - Athena is one of my favourite parts of the 'new ROH'. She is a great worker and so good in this role as an ultra-cocky bad-ass who just beats the sh*t out of everyone put in front of her. And it's a great spot for her to shine - away from the likes of Britt Baker, Jamie Hayter, Toni Storm, Ruby Soho and Saraya/Paige who get a lot of TV time on AEW's flagship shows each week. In less than five minutes there wasn't much more they could do with this, but it was fun for what it was. Hyan is likeable, talented and got a few hope spots in...but for the most part was there to take a hell of a beating from Athena. 

Not content with the win, Athena also smashes Hyan's face into the Women's Title belt as well. 

Lexy Nair checks in with Metalik and Blake Christian. It turns out that Blake has a friend in mind to fill the third spot on their team - bringing in AR Fox to complete their trio to face the Trustbusters next week.

The Last Real Man (who comes out wearing a Sinclair-era ROH shirt) was a prominent part of the previous era and a multi-time former TV Champion. As yet he hasn't featured much under Khan-ownership but has made his way to back to ROH television and will look to make an impact. 

Kross' style isn't one which particularly endears itself to someone of Silas' demeanour. That said, he is just quick and illusive enough to cause the Last Real Man a few problems in the opening minutes. Young becomes so frustrated that he winds up whipping his opponent into the buckles with such force that Marcus crumples to the canvas in a heap. Plunge nailed, giving Silas the win at 03:07

Rating - N/A - A short and largely dominant win for Silas. I was a big fan of his during the latter years of Sinclair's ownership, during which time he became one of the promotion's most reliable and consistent performers (as well as one of the most dependable heel characters). I do fear that time may have passed him by and he isn't quite such an asset given the stylistic changes made to ROH by Tony Khan but I welcomed his presence and this was a serviceable squash to bring him back into the fold. 

Silas grabs a microphone to complain about being exiled from ROH for the past year. He calls himself the greatest TV Champion ever as well...provoking the immediate arrival of another ex-TV Champ in the form of Shane Taylor. He is furious, calls himself the 'baddest' champ and challenges Silas to a match next week.

Athena intimidates Lexy Nair during her attempts to conduct an interview. The Fallen Goddess calls out Yuka Sakazaki, challenging her to a Women's Title Match at Supercard Of Honor...

The Embassy defeated Dalton & The Boys for the belts at Final Battle, but having lost and regained those belts before it was inevitable that Dalton would be able to rally his team-mates and return for another shot. Remember, they won their first ROH Trios Title by defeating the Briscoes and Bully Ray so they are certainly capable of pulling off an upset victory over the dominating, intimidating champions.

Kaun and Dalton get us started in thrilling fashion; the champ trying to bully Dalton but finding himself thrown around with ease by the accomplished amateur grappling skills of Castle. The Gates Of Agony intercept a Boy instead, dragging Brent to their corner and mobbing him. Brandon saves after an error by Toa - but it takes all three challengers working together before they're able to get the massive Liona off his feet. Kaun injured Dalton's arm by snapping it on the top rope, whilst inside the ring Cage plucks Brandon out of the air to level him with a brutal powerslam. The Embassy spent a couple of minutes isolating and brutalising Brandon. Apron senton/dead-lift superplex combo by Cage and Liona nailed for 2 with Dalton still on the floor nursing his arm. Toa then gives him a spinebuster with such force that bits of Brandon's gear start falling off. Again it's an error from Liona which opens the door to a tag though - Brandon scurrying away to unleash the ailing Castle. The injury means Kaun is able to block the Everest German, and Prince Nana appears on the apron to ensure Dalton can't hit the Bang-A-Rang either. Cage hits the F'n-5 on Dalton...but walks into an assisted Shiranui from The Boys. Kaun lariats Brent through the air, then uses him as a weapon to launch full-force into the midriff of his twin brother. The Embassy retain at 10:19

Rating - ** - This probably didn't need to go as long as it did in all honesty. However, watching guys the size of The Embassy massacre The Boys is admittedly rather entertaining, and I liked the extra detail they included by having The Embassy specifically injure Dalton to prevent him featuring more prominently in the back half of the match. The match itself was, although a little long, largely quite decent. My issue here is more with the rampant stagnation of every wrestler on display. The Embassy have been wrestling the same match with almost zero character progression for months, and are now dogged by rumours that Cage is leaving after Supercard Of Honor. Dalton & The Boys are delivering an act that they already ditched for being stale once before. Acceptable though this match was, where is my reason to WANT to tune in and watch any of these six guys? Are they doing anything which incentivises you to spend that $10 per month on an Honor Club subscription? I'm not sure they are...

The Embassy continue to assault Dalton & The Boys until they are chased off by Blake Christian, AR Fox and Metalik. Despite having never wrestled as a trio in ROH, they grab the belts and start posing with them...

Adora returned to ROH TV with an impressive victory over Billie Starkz last week. Now she faces an altogether different prospect in the form of the experienced veteran Madison Rayne. Madison teamed with Skye Blue to defeat the Renegade Twins on Episode 1 of Honor Club TV meaning both of these two are coming in on the back of a win...

Rayne visibly tries to maintain a quick pace from the outset and recognises she can't allow herself to get involved in mat-wrestling exchanges with her opponent. As soon as Adora is able to lock up with her opponent she immediately assumes control, such is her size and technical prowess. She bombards Rayne with elbow strikes in the corner...so once again Madison creates some space, quickens the pace and lands a sliding boot to the face. She fights desperately when Trish captures her in another submission and finally battles free again with a DDT. Ripcord cutter gets 2, with Rayne's arm bothering her as she starts to feel the impact of Adora's work. Lariat COUNTERED to a Crucifix Driver! But Trish blocks the Rayne Check and absolutely decks her with the Lariat Tubman! Adora wins at 05:13

Rating - ** - This wasn't quite as good a five minute blast as Adora/Billie was last week, but I found this largely enjoyable. The execution wasn't always flawless, but I thought they held everything together with a smart narrative and everything here seemed to be geared towards putting Adora over. To that end it was a fine follow up to Trish's match with Billie Starkz, and Madison did her job as the veteran extremely well.

Top Flight are interviewed after Dante defeated Mike Bennett earlier and ahead of Darius squaring off with Matt Taven next week. They plan to go 3-0 over The Kingdom...

A cursory look at the Cagematch history for Truth Magnum and Turbo Floyd reveals that they've spent the vast majority of their team as a duo in OVW (but do have an AEW Dark victory to their name as well). Their ROH debut isn't the main attraction of this one however. This match marks the reunion of former Tag Champions Daniels and Sydal. In 2006 they contested a series of matches against each other, with their rivalry culminating in the formation of a tag team which would go on to 'Dethrone' the Kings Of Wrestling and become ROH Tag Champions. The return of ROH captured the imagination of Daniels, and now he has an ally in the form of Sydal, who himself returns to Ring Of Honor looking for opportunity after finding those increasingly hard to come by on AEW programming.

Truth takes a cheap-shot at Daniels to get the match started then gives him a neckbreaker for an early nearfall. Sydal comes to the aid of his partner, using kicks to send both Outrunners sprawling. Angel's Wings/Ghana-rea combo gives Sydal & Daniels the win at 02:42

Rating - N/A - Nothing more than a squash to reintroduce the Daniels/Sydal duo. It is undeniably clever to pair up two useful veterans with plenty to offer (but minimal TV time to offer it on AEW) like Daniels and Sydal, in a way which gives a nod to Ring Of Honor's past. They are certainly capable of knocking out some fun, TV-length tag bouts and help to get some of the younger teams over in this 'new era' of ROH...

Speaking of young teams, Aussie Open interrupt the victory celebrations. Kyle Fletcher calls the winners an integral part of ROH history, and comments than he was seven when they won the Tag Titles in 2006. He says that in 2023 they want to be the ROH Tag Champions...and can't think of a better way to prove their credentials than by beating Daniels & Sydal.

There is a personal element to this after Wheeler belittled NJPW LA Dojo graduates like Connors nothing more than 'young boys wearing $50 tracksuits', whilst he has been developed under the tutelage of Danielson, Moxley, Castagnoli and Regal as part of the Blackpool Combat Club. Connors is here to take the Pure Title and uphold the honour of his own trainer - Katsuyori Shibata.

The first minute sees Connors make a statement by repeatedly taking the champion off his feet. But Yuta shows his skill; luring the fired up challenger into making an error and walking into a submission which quickly costs him his first rope-break. Clark hits a high angle suplex, only for Yuta to block the Jeep Flip and apply an octopus stretch which draws the second rope-break out of the challenger. An illegal closed-fist punch keeps Wheeler on top, setting him up to continue working over Clark's arm and shoulder. Rebound lariat by Yuta COUNTERED into the Jeep Flip! But his shoulder is so injured that Connor's can't follow up right away. Another Jeep Flip is countered to a drop toehold - driving him shoulder-first into the turnbuckles for good measure. Spear by Connors! Both men collapse to the mat after that. Wheeler starts clubbing at the arm like a mad-man...and a desperate closed-fist punch by Connors staves him off. PUNCH BY YUTA! That should be a DQ, but of course the ref hadn't seen the first punch he threw, only adding to Clark's frustration. Shamrock Anklelock by the challenger...and Yuta dives into the ropes to escape! Trophy Kill COUNTERED into a chickenwing by Wheeler! And as Connors nurses the arm Yuta ensnares him in an elaborate pin to retain the title at 09:55

Rating - *** - It's disappointing they could only find ten minutes for this. I'd certainly have liked it to go a little longer, because they had some really great ideas here. I loved the idea of Yuta thinking himself to be better than Shibata's teaching at the NJPW LA Dojo and using some of Shibata's own moves against Connors as he fights for the honour of his trainer. I thought the work around Clark's arm was really good too, aided by a compelling job selling it by the challenger. Just as with his match against Timothy Thatcher, Yuta's own individual performance as an increasingly antagonistic, somewhat villainous Pure Champion was incredibly enjoyable. Some of his work genuinely reminds me of the early days of Nigel McGuinness' epic Pure Title reign - which is clearly an enormous compliment. But with less than ten minutes, a lot of the drama in the match felt lost as everything they did was compressed for time. 

Wheeler gets on the mic, then sits down cross-legged in the middle of the ring to deliver a challenge to Shibata himself!

Tape Rating - ** - I have mixed feelings on this episode. If you view it in terms of match quality then it was probably the weakest of the three episodes thus far. Dante/Bennett was far better than I'd expected and the main event is fun, but beyond that the episode is essentially two hours of short, filler matches. As I've said quite a few times, that is fine for something free on YouTube like Dark, but doesn't represent the kind of premium quality which will have fans paying $10 a month to watch for very long. However, to counter-balance that point, what this episode did better than perhaps either of the previous episodes was ensure that each segment was leading somewhere. These weren't pointless filler matches like in Episode 1 - almost everything was setting up matches for next week, or for Supercard Of Honor. From more build to Claudio/Kingston, Yuta's challenge to Shibata, the creation of the Fox/Christian/Metalik trio, the Daniels/Sydal vs Aussie Open challenge, Shane Taylor and Silas Young returning to ROH TV - and more. That makes this quite a tough episode to rate. If your only criteria for judging quality in this new Ring Of Honor is in-ring action, then this episode is an easy pass. But this is the first episode where it has felt like Tony Khan has gotten into the groove and started to create an ROH universe which runs adjacent to All Elite Wrestling but is capable of existing separately - and with the bigger picture of long-term viability for ROH as a promotion, that is a valuable thing. A potential Supercard line-up of Claudio/Eddie, Joe/Mark, Athena/Yuka, Yuta/Shibata and the Reach For The Sky Ladder Match is certainly pretty decent...