McXal's Reviews

I was effusive in my praise of the Supercard Of Honor 15 pay-per-view event. I thought it stood out as the most well-rounded, complete Ring Of Honor event since the Khan buy-out with some great action inside the ring and some bold creative choices made as well. And since Tony Khan has made the decision to start taping ROH TV on the road with AEW programming (although he did say there would still be specific ROH tapings too) a perk of that new schedule is that we're able to instantly bounce into post-PPV follow-up content. That is something previous ownership regimes have constantly struggled with. Our advertised main event sees Athena once again defending her Women's Championship, this time against Miyu Yamashita. We'll also see new Tag Champions the Lucha Bros, new Pure Champion Katsuyori Shibata, the return of The Righteous to Ring Of Honor television and more. Since Supercard Of Honor it has been announced that Nigel McGuinness is now officially 'All Elite' and signed with AEW - and he is back behind the ROH announce desk tonight with Ian Riccaboni and Caprice Coleman in Long Island, NY.

It feels like it is 2002 all over again, since the show begins with a Christopher Daniels promo (as almost every show did in the early days). He congratulates Shibata on his Pure Title win...and reminds him that he has beaten him in the past. He challenges Shibata for the title tonight.

The Lucha Bros were the victors in the spectacular Reach For The Sky Ladder Match and were duly crowned the new ROH Tag Team Champions. The man they replaced, Mark Briscoe, is their partner tonight and they have struck up a relationship having previously teamed on AEW television. How is Mark doing after his heartbreaking failure to take the TV Title from Joe at Supercard? Taylor is no stranger to doing battle with the Briscoe Brothers, and he brings with him The WorkHorsemen - who are no doubt looking to use ROH as a platform to showcase their talents in a way they've not been able to do consistently in All Elite Wrestling.

Briscoe starts with Taylor, as the announcers remind us that Shane T has been TV Champ in the past - unlike Mark. Briscoe's unorthodox speed sees him get the edge over both Taylor and Henry, before vacating for Fenix, who exposes Anthony's ass for a flying leg drop from Penta. TRIPLE KICK COMBO from the Lucha Bros and Mark to take out Taylor! Pentagon thinks about an early Fear Factor only for Shane to viciously headbutt him away - then flatten him with a body avalanche in the corner. The WorkHorsemen team up on Penta but just can't suppress him with any success before he powers past Henry with a Sling Blade. Powerhouse Hobbs and QT Marshall are in the crowd taunting the Lucha Bros ahead of challenging them for the Tag Titles at AEW Battle Of The Belts 6...but on the floor Briscoe hits the Cactus Elbow on Drake. Ghetto Stomp from Pentagon to Henry! Taylor decapitates Rey with a lariat, then hits WELCOME TO THE LAND on Briscoe! The Lucha Bros dive in at the last to break the pin after that. STEP-UP DESTROYER from Penta to JD. Mark hits the Jay Driller on Henry to win at 08:44

Rating - ** - I like all the individuals within this match, but I didn't feel like this really clicked. Something about this felt quite cumbersome and awkward as a trios match and it felt like everyone would've been more comfortable if it was a Taylor/Briscoe singles match and a Lucha Bros/WorkHorsemen tag. The last couple of minutes, packed full of spots, were undeniably enjoyable but there really wasn't much going on before that.

Hobbs and QT continue to taunt the Lucha Bros after the bell, whilst the commentary team put Briscoe, Penta and Fenix over as potential future challengers to The Embassy's Six-Man Title.

As a former World, TV, Tag and Six-Man Champion, the Pure Championship is the only belt Daniels is missing from his legendary Ring Of Honor career. He is the first man to challenge Shibata, who surprised a lot of people by storming into Supercard Of Honor without much ring-time behind him and yet still defeating Wheeler Yuta to become Pure Champion. Stylistically he is made for the division...but the same could be said for the Fallen Angel. This is a clash between two smart, savvy, wily veterans...

Shibata drags the match straight to the ground, away from bumps and away from any damage to his head or neck. There is lots of offence targeted at Daniels' neck too, although his first major submission hold is actually a Figure 4 (just as he used against Yuta in LA). Like Yuta, Daniels fights it for some time but does yield and take his first rope-break to escape. PK ducked by Daniels...who charges and delivers a running elbow right to the back of the head. Daniels strikes and wrenches at the neck before delivering a neckbreaker; clearly looking to exploit Shibata's injuries to become Pure Champion. Flatliner/Koji Clutch combo inflicts more damage...and Shibata actually refuses to take a rope-break, spending far longer in the hold than necessary in order to find an escape-route. He no-sells Daniels' strikes and pummels him with elbows and a dropkick in the corner. Sleeper hold applied, forcing the Fallen Angel to take his second rope-break. He lands a few more shots to Shibata's neck but the champ meets him with a flurry of kicks to the chest. PK nailed...and Shibata retains at 10:08

Rating - ** - As with the opening match, there were things I liked about this but also a great deal which felt very flat and lifeless. This actually reminded me a lot of the Yuta/Shibata match from Supercard, where much of what I liked came from Shibata's opponent - in this instance Daniels working on the head and neck. There just wasn't enough going on here to fill the ten minute run-time meaning the action felt very sedate and listless at times. Unfortunately some of that is just the reality of where Shibata is in his career. He is an all-time great but at this point he needs to be so carefully managed that you start to wonder whether it is prudent of Tony to be putting him in such a high profile spot.

Claudio Castagnoli gets some interview time and of course belittles Eddie Kingston in the wake of his victory at Supercard. He says he'll continue to defend his World Title against 'worthy' challengers...

Rumours continue to circulate around the contractual status and future of 'The Machine' Brian Cage, but for now he remains the centrepiece of Prince Nana's Embassy and one third of ROH's Six-Man Champions. He is in singles action tonight against Ortiz, who crosses over from AEW to Ring Of Honor for the first time. 

Ortiz understandably tries to maintain a fast pace...only for a single forearm strike from Cage to almost break his jaw. He launches himself into a cannonball off the apron next and takes The Machine off his feet momentarily. Cage responds with a roundhouse kick and an effortless dead-lift superplex. He dominates at a methodical pace - not even going to the mat as he heaves Ortiz into a fallaway slam for 2. Drill Claw blocked, with Ortiz rolling to the apron and hanging him over the ropes...then landing a slingshot DDT. Dog Valley Driver gets 2! Brian hits the GMSI, and lands a big superkick as well. Ortiz counters another superplex with a powerbomb...but the respite is brief and Cage hits the Drill Claw to win at 08:13

Rating - ** - Big muscle-bound dude tries to dominate illusive, fast, sneaky smaller wrestler. You'll have seen that story played out inside a professional wrestling ring many times no doubt, and a great many of them will have been considerably better than this. It wasn't without it's charm since Ortiz is a fun street-fighter and Cage is always good value for getting hits spots in...but it was mostly pretty flat and really didn't capture the imagination of the live crowd.

Top Flight's Darius Martin will be without his brother Dante for a considerable period of time, following his horrific leg break in the final moments of the Reach For The Sky Ladder Match. Interestingly he faces Jay Lethal, who returns to ROH for the first time in a while. The odds are stacked against Darius, since Lethal has Satnam Singh and Sonjay Dutt at ringside, whilst The Kingdom (whom Top Flight were engaged in a rivalry with going into Supercard Of Honor) join commentary too...

Lethal jumps Martin, whilst Maria is on commentary sarcastically asking Riccaboni and Caprice where Dante has gone. Heat Seeking Missile landed by Darius, then a crossbody block for 2. Jay kills that momentum with a springboard dropkick and starts attacking the leg to set up the Figure 4. Martin hits a Pele Kick...but can't do much more because his path is blocked by the massive figure of Satnam. It's only when they go back to the ring that he is able to launch himself into a flatliner for 2. He dropkicks Jay's arm to block the Lethal Injection...but walks into a superkick. Regulation Ace Crusher blocked as well by Martin HANDSTANDING out of it! Standing C4 gets 2! Matt Taven leaves commentary and walks down the aisle...as Martin inadvertently dropkicks Satnam (who doesn't move). He argues with the ref as Taven romps into the ring and attacks Darius. Lethal Injection nailed, giving Jay the win at 05:32

Rating - ** - In a quirky way this was actually the best match on the show so far. It didn't go long but had a clear narrative of the babyface Martin trying to overcome insurmountable odds with his agility and defiance. Maria, Nigel, Caprice and Riccaboni were genuinely very funny on commentary, and I really liked than Ian was able on-hand to point out the symbolism of Taven and Lethal seemingly helping each other given their extensive history in ROH together. Not a great match at all, but by far the most entertainment we've had in the first hour of the show tonight...

Satnam Singh hands The Kingdom his overcoat, and it's so big they can both put it on as they taunt Darius from the aisle...

La Faccion Ingobernable are looking to rebound after failing to take the Tag Titles at Supercard. They know wins will quickly get them into contention for a shot at the Lucha Bros and will be intent on making short work of The Infantry tonight. Shawn Dean and Carlie Bravo are still searching for a victory to solidify their spot on the roster and know how important a victory over a team containing a former ROH World Champion would be...

Dralistico refuses to shake Dean's hand but finds in 'The Captain' an opponent who is every bit as quick and athletic as he is. After they battle to a stalemate Dralistico does extend the hand...and of course instantly cheap-shots him with a corkscrew kick. He calls out Bravo next, only for Rush to illegally strike Carlie from behind. He gives Bravo the Bull's Horns fake-out, before dropping Dean with a German suplex. Dralistico hits a butterfly knee strike to win at 03:40

Rating - N/A - Exactly what was needed, i.e. a total squash for LFI, which put them over strong after they failed to take the Tag Titles at the PPV. A Lucha Bros/LFI Tag Title Match feels like great match for either TV or the next ROH PPV so I'm happy for them to build towards that. In the immediate term this also made Dralistico look pretty good on the eve of him going to Battle Of The Belts 6 to challenge for Orange Cassidy's AEW International Title. 

These two should make for great opponents. Garcia is a former Pure Champion and even pushed Hiroshi Tanahashi to the limit at Supercard Of Honor. Indeed, the Pure Title is a belt 'Hot Sauce' would love to win having made it all the way to the finals of the tournament to relaunch the belt back in 2020. Even more ironically; as a self-proclaimed 'Sports Entertainer', it is Hot Sauce's accolade as a former ROH TV Champion which would probably be of most interest to Garcia now. 

Williams obviously wants to grapple and wrestle with Garcia, although Daniel is more than equipped to hang on the mat with him. Tracy throws elbows at his neck which visibly hurts Garcia - causing him to unleash straight-up punches to keep his opponent at bay. Tornado DDT blocked too, this time with Daniel striking Hot Sauce straight to the floor. Fans are being assholes and chanting 'we want tables', which Garcia BRILLIANTLY deals with by hunting around under the ring and throwing middle fingers...before continuing to act like a sports-entertainer as he beats Tracy down. Capture back suplex by Hot Sauce! TURNBUCKLE DOUBLE ARM DDT! CROSSFACE! Garcia frantically grabs the ropes to escape. He butterflies Tracy into a version of the Codebreaker to win at 06:18

Rating - *** - Although brief and limited in scope, once again it is Tracy Williams who makes the absolute most out of whatever TV time he is given to deliver a snappy little match. This was great fun with Williams trying to take Garcia down in his no-thrills, no-nonsense pure style and targeted attack on the neck. Garcia could match Tracy as a grappler, but his rule-breaking and willingness to be a sports entertainer is what gave him the edge here. Simple, effective story-telling - and comfortably the most enjoyable match so far.

One of the best matches on Honor Club TV thus far was Willow's unsuccessful Women's Title showdown with Athena. She wants a rematch with the Fallen Goddess so is looking to rack up wins in order to go right back into the title picture. Her opponent is only young but has already spent time training in the famous Monster Factory and has experience on WWE NXT TV too.

Willow dances and smiles...then flattens Mimi with a shoulder tackle then a senton splash. She defiantly slaps Nightingale in the face then grabs a leg to take her down in impressive fashion. POUNCE by Willow quickly shuts her down and the Dangerous Babe Bomb finishes it for Willow at 02:00

Rating - N/A - A complete squash to keep Willow's momentum ticking over on both ROH and AEW programming. 

The Righteous returned to Ring Of Honor at the conclusion of last Friday's Supercard Zero Hour, marking their first appearance since Death Before Dishonor 19 in the summer of 2022. The aren't a particularly well-regarded faction in the annuls of ROH history, but I always go to bat for them a little. It certainly wasn't ever innovative, but heading up the faction finally helped Vincent (who had been one of my least favourite talents in the promotion) find his niche and the Steel Cage conclusion to the Righteous vs Kingdom/Taven vs Vincent feud at Glory By Honor 18 is a real hidden gem. I have some uncertainty about how well the act will translate to ROH on a bigger scale (I feel like it worked much better in the small buildings and empty pandemic-era arenas ROH ran under Sinclair in 2019-2021) and I do hope Bateman and Vita VonStarr are reinstated to the group soon since Vita was unique and Bateman was by far my favourite worker of the group. 

Dutch steamrolls both opponents before the bell even rings, then feeds one of them into a sliding flatliner from Vincent. Exploder suplex by Dutch, then a Bossman Slam. Redrum scores for Marseglia - who then hits the Acid Drop off his own partner to win at 01:57

Rating - N/A - A brief squash to introduce The Righteous to a far wider audience than they were ever exposed to at their peak during Sinclair's final days. Caprice alludes to the fact that there are 'more of them' which makes me hopeful we might see Vita and Bateman in future, and Ian Riccaboni has been on social media to point out that Vincent still hasn't received the World Title shot that he earned by beating Matt Taven in the aforementioned Steel Cage Match at Glory By Honor 18. They are apparently coming for the Dark Order...

Varsity Athletes' Tony Nese is a local talent to the area so should enjoy some fan support, whilst Takeshita is undefeated in Ring Of Honor since the relaunch. The Japanese star has challenged Claudio Castagnoli for the belt in the past and can't need too many more victories before credibly calling for another shot. 'Smart' Mark Sterling, Josh Woods (who lost to Takeshita on Episode 1) and Ari Daivari are all out in Nese's corner.

Fast kicks from Nese get us started, delivered with such precision that even his opponent has to respect it. Konosuke is rebuked when trying to offer a handshake, so instead floors Nese with a shoulder tackle. Josh Woods helps his colleague out; holding Takeshita in the ropes so Tony can deliver a running dropkick to the exposed back. He starts ramming Takeshita's body against the steps and ring apron next, inflicting further damage to the core of the young Japanese star. Running K-neese blocked with a big lariat by Konosuke, but it does nothing more than leave both men on the canvas at this juncture. Yakuza Kick flurry by Takeshita! Zahi knee strike dodged...so Takeshita hits a Blue Thunder Driver instead. The Varsity Athletes pull Nese to the floor so he can recover...only for Konosuke to dive onto all of them with a SOMERSAULT PLANCHA! Only Smart Mark is able to keep out of Takeshita's path of destruction, and he distracts the Japanese star for long enough to allow Tony to hang him in the ropes and land a springboard moonsault for 2. Pumphandle Driver COUNTERED TO A CRADLE TOMBSTONE by Takeshita! Smart Mark again distracts Konosuke, whilst Daivari saves Nese from a German suplex. PUMPHANDLE DRIVER! Takeshita kicks out! CHAOS THEORY! Takeshita wins at 10:24

Rating - *** - Both of these two have performed at a consistently high level when booked in this new ROH era thus far, so it shouldn't surprise anyone that this was another commendable effort. It was a little too heavy on the interference for my personal taste, but it did work in that they were getting some of the better reactions from the live crowd of anything on the show. The action was well-paced, physical and dynamic throughout and climaxed with a super finishing stretch. I'd actually have ditched a couple of the filler matches on this show and given these guys more time to really deliver something decent.

This was the only match that received any kind of advertising/promotion on social media before the taping so it is fitting that it main events the episode. Athena deserves that spot for the sheer quality of her title reign, particularly recent defences against Willow, Emi Sakura and Yuka Sakazaki. She has another Joshi star in her sights tonight. Yamashita is an accomplished star in TJPW, but has also achieved significant success internationally - as the current Pro Wrestling EVE Champion in the UK and also a former SHINE Champion too.

Athena is at her brash, confident best in the first minute...but instantly dives to the outside the second Yamashita threatens to clock her with one of her trademark kick attacks. Return Crash enzi strike by the challenger emphatically knocks Athena to the mat moments later. She peppers the champ's midsection with kicks and knees, literally causing Athena to crawl out of the ring in a desperate bid to escape. Miyu tries to drag her back in by the hair...but is bounced off the ropes by the resourceful champion. The Fallen Goddess violently spins her head-first into the ringpost then hits a knee-DT on the floor! Back in the ring she applies a deathlock to further injure the leg - clearly looking to reduce the effectiveness of Miyu's kicks. Yamashita delivers a PK from the apron undeterred, but keeps trying the same move and gets SWUNG INTO THE RINGPOST AGAIN! Athena then brutally misses a senton splash on the floor! RUNNING KNEE BY MIYU! But Athena grabs the leg and drags her off the top rope before she can do anything else. Kicks by Yamashita to prevent the champ even setting up for the O-Face, before she chases Athena up the ropes for an AVALANCHE DVD! Running knee by Miyu COUNTERED to a half crab on the bad leg! Then an anklelock when Yamashita threatens to make the ropes! Miyu spins out and boots Athena in the back of the head. Skull Kick ducked...and once again Athena tries to flee, this time trying to walk all the way to the back. They get into an ugly brawl on the stage; Miyu again rocking the champ with violent kicks. DVD ON THE STAGE by the challenger! She tries to drag Athena back to the ring...only for the Goddess to shove her off the ramp, causing her to land on her bad leg. SOMERSAULT PLANCHA OFF THE STAGE BY ATHENA! She screams abuse at Yamashita as they wearily stagger back towards the ring, only for Miyu to spiral into a sliding kick right into the back. Skull Kick COUNTERED to a Crossface! Yamashita fights it for as long as she can but lapses into unconsciousness, forcing the ref to stop the match at 13:24

Rating - **** - It's Athena in the form of her life, in the main event spot against a top tier opponent...so of course this delivered. They beat the sh*t out of each other here, with Athena going out of her way to put over just how dangerous Yamashita is - even in defeat. The way she conveyed her fear of and vulnerability to Miyu's kicks - with desperate counters or straight-up running away - meant you really felt the drama every time Yamashita was able to land one of her major strikes. I really liked that there was a major pay-off to Athena repeatedly trying to run away too (something she'd done from minute one of the match), with the wild brawl segment on the stage a direct consequence of the champ trying to bail once too often. I'd probably like Miyu to have acknowledged the Athena's leg work little more, but that's a minor quibble. This run of Athena title defences (Willow in Orlando, Sakura in St Louis, Sakazaki in LA and tonight) has been a remarkable accomplishment. Her title win against Mercedes Martinez is really under-rated (as was the AEW Dark defence against Marina Shafir) too. If I were in Tony Khan's position right now I would be promoting the hell out of her as a must-see attraction and something you can 'only see in ROH'...

Tape Rating - ** - The main event really saved this one. Athena/Yamashita felt very special and is worth checking out, and that is fortunate because before that this generally came off like a bad episode of AEW Dark. Even with such a strong main event it does have to be pointed out that this was a really disappointing follow-up to the outstanding Supercard Of Honor pay-per-view. I'm not so disappointed in the match quality (although I do think Khan really should be focusing on less matches and improving the quality of the bouts he does present if he wants to sustain/substantially increase Honor Club subs) but actually the lack of progression or tangible follow-up and response to the PPV that really frustrated me here. To give an example, Mark Briscoe had one of the most emotional moments of the entire show in LA, yet Samoa Joe wasn't mentioned here and Mark was basically back to his normal self to get the show started. Eddie Kingston (who is apparently injured) wasn't on the show, and Claudio Castagnoli only appeared in a brief promo. In fact, the only substantial follow-up to Supercard that we actually got was more from The Kingdom/Top Flight feud (which looks harder to progress now Dante is out injured) and The Righteous making an in-ring return to ROH television after making a shock comeback at the Zero Hour pre-show on Friday night. I could live with the match quality being lowered if I was being kept engaged with the story-telling, particularly after Tony Khan made such brave creative choices at the PPV. Instead this felt like he was distracted by AEW, and just slung together a few AEW Dark-esque matches to fill the slot on Honor Club for the week knowing that at least he had Athena and Miyu to carry the load. Here's hoping next week (which was taped on 7th April along with AEW Rampage and Battle Of The Belts 6) is better.