McXal's Reviews

Too many matches, too many squashes, at times too reminiscent of AEW's FOC YouTube development shows Dark/Elevation - all fairly common criticisms that I've seen of the ROH Honor Club show over the last few weeks. Before Supercard I flagged that I felt that was a little unfair, but since ROH TV has gone on the road with AEW I do think the quality has suffered and a lot of the Honor Club show has started to become too reminiscent of content AEW is already giving away for free. I could accept that if the quality of the story-telling was good, but since Supercard Of Honor there hasn't been much going on in terms of tangible developments to storylines either. A cursory glance at the line-up for this week - another episode with a whopping double digit match count, another episode where the longest match is twelve minutes and the vast majority go five minutes or less - doesn't fill me with much confidence either. Trying to be positive, there are some intriguing matches lined up; The Kingdom in a grudge match against Darius Martin and Action Andretti, Samoa Joe is back to defend his TV Title against beloved ROH stalwart Colt Cabana, Lee Moriarty makes his first ROH appearance of the year to face Konosuke Takeshita, and El Hijo del Vikingo is also here; taking on the debuting Gringo Loco. Ian Riccaboni and Caprice Coleman provide commentary from Milwaukee, WI.

The issue between The OGK and Top Flight dates back to last December and has been rumbling on as long as any other issue in the 'new ROH'. Taven and Bennett still haven't satisfactorily avenged the loss they suffered to the Martins at Final Battle 2022, and thought they could exploit the severe injury Dante suffered at Supercard Of Honor to pick off his brother Darius. They hadn't counted on Darius' friend Action Andretti making his way over from AEW and getting involved though. In many ways Andretti coming to ROH feels inevitable; a young talent under the AEW talent umbrella that Tony wants to give development opportunities to...and more than that he has been a mainstay of the MCW promotion since he broke in in late 2019/early 2020, which given Sinclair-owned ROH's links to the Maryland region makes it highly probably he'd have been given a shot under the previous regime too.

The Kingdom back Martin into their corner and immediately start working him over 2-on-1, with Bennett breaking off to deliver a cheap-shot on Andretti as well. Darius tries to leap into a big tag, but Mike plucks him out of the air with a brilliant mid-air spinebuster to counter! Heat Seeking Missile on Bennett! TOPE SUICIDA by Taven! ASAI MOONSAULT by Action! The ROH debutant hits a springboard corkscrew splash for 2, but on the floor he doesn't see Bennett absolutely decimate Martin against the guardrails. Bennett slides into the ring, grabs Action and sets him up for the springboard elbow drop/backbreaker combo. Martin saves his partner from the Hail Mary and soars in with a High Fly Flow on Mike for 2. DOUBLE SPRINGBOARD tornillo by Andretti, followed by a split-legged moonsault for 2. HANDSPRING ELBOW/GERMAN SUPLEX COMBO on Bennett! Maria Kanellis-Bennett hops onto the apron to distract them though...and The OGK level Darius with the Proton Pack to win at 06:15

Rating - *** - Criminally short. I'd have scrapped easily half the matches on this line-up and let these four guys have a solid 12-15 minutes, and I think the show would be all the better for it. They sprinted through an enjoyable six minutes of frenetic action; the basic premise being The Kingdom trying to isolate, outnumber and slow their opponents, whilst the Martin/Andretti team gained the ascendancy whenever they were able to break free of that and hit exciting high spots. For the time allotted it was great, I wanted to see more of it though...

Athena is backstage, once again calling the women she faces in ROH 'porcelain hussies' and dares people to come from all over the world to face her, because nobody is on her level. 

One person who would love to face Athena again is Willow, and she is back in ROH action tonight looking to build towards another title shot. The Renegade Twins were on the first episode of the new Honor Club show (defeated by Madison Rayne and Skye Blue), so the pressure is on Robyn to deliver the kind of performance which proves they belong on the roster.

Ian and Caprice's schtick over Willow's entrance isn't entertaining to me. I like that Robyn gets right in her face and slaps her though. It's an intense start and provokes an emphatic reaction from Nightingale who spends the next minute over-powering her opponent at every turn. She forearms Renegade off the apron...only for Robyn to grab a leg and drive her face-first into the side of the ring. BIG SLAP in the corner by Renegade! Nightingale retorts with some huge chops and crushes her into the opposite corner with a hip attack. Spinebuster scores, as does the POUNCE! Robyn sensibly rolls to the apron, where her sister Charlette appears from nowhere and swaps places with her! They aren't even identical so the ref instantly spots it, but the confusion does allow Robyn to grab one last flash pin on Willow...for 2. Nightingale counters to a roll-up of her own to win at 04:53

Rating - ** - The action didn't flow seamlessly and felt a little clumsy at points, but for the most part this was a great showing from Robyn. She showed a lot of personality, drew audible reactions from the crowd and was completely believable when trading strikes even with someone of Willow's power. Young talent getting the opportunity to prove themselves is very much the traditional MO for Ring Of Honor and it's nice to see that continued. Someone as likeable and popular as Willow is a terrific foil for the Renegades...

Charlette and Robyn attack Willow after the bell and give her what I believe is the Renegade's Revenge, laying her out then walking away...

Colt Cabana smiles broadly as he returns to ROH television. He points out that after tonight he'll have challenged Joe for the ROH World, Pure and TV Title. He doesn't know where he fits into Tony Khan's ROH but he is grateful for this opportunity and plans to leave with the belt tonight...

This isn't a debut for Archer, who worked ROH on several occasions as part of the Killer Elite Squad. He is back, having only returned to AEW in February after a few months spent away from the company wrestling in Japan and will be looking to make short work of his opponent...

Archer drags Jah-C out from the locker room during as part of his entrance. Jah tries to fight back with some evasive action striking, but they have no effect on Lance. The monster then knocks him out with a knee strike and delivers the Dark Days DDT, followed by a big lariat to easily win at 01:59

Rating - N/A - At north of 45 years old I don't think Archer's best days in the ring are still ahead of him, but he remains a legitimate presence and an imposing force when he wrestles. He looked like a killer here, as was the entire purpose of the segment so it is hard to find too much fault with this. I'm not sure he's someone I'm interested in watching regularly in the new Ring Of Honor though...

I believe this airs after it was revealed that Prince Nana and Swerve Strickland have entered into something of a business alliance. The Machine has also reportedly signed a new contract with AEW/ROH and is here to make another statement. Jett is based predominantly out of the Midwest, usually as Joey Avalon (but has worked as Joey Jett on AEW Dark previously). 

Jett gets a big local babyface pop but his fans are quickly silenced as The Machine levels him with a big German suplex. They keep trying to rally behind him, only for Cage to maul him at every turn. Joey looks for a slingshot cutter...but is battered to the ground with ease. Flatliner by Jett, who then counters the F'n'5 and the Discus Lariat in short order when The Machine tries to get right back up. Cage has had enough and lands the Discus Lariat, then the F'n'5 for the win at 05:07

Rating - * - I'm not happy with the volume of squash matches we get on ROH TV, but they are tolerable when they are kept short like Archer/Jah-C. This went far too long, and felt incredibly self-defeating as a package. Joey got mauled for most of the match so gains very little credibility in defeat, but the match went long enough (with sufficient amounts of Jett offence) that it didn't feel like a particularly impressive squash win for Cage either. In the end it was a pretty sluggish, uninteresting affair.

This is a Proving Ground Match, so a potential future shot at the Women's Title is up for grabs. Athena has challenged women from all over the world to come to ROH and prove they are on her level, and Reckless is next to take that challenge it seems.

Athena makes fun of Heather for being short (given that Athena isn't tall at all that should tell you how diminutive Reckless is)...but Reckless comes out swinging and instantly drops the Fallen Goddess with a standing Shiranui. She tries a crossbody off the apron too, only for Athena to catch her and SLAM HER INTO THE GUARDRAILS! Heather tries to get up, so Athena grabs her by the head and starts tossing her into the barricades again and again. Back in the ring Heather tries a flash pin...only for the champ to hit her with ROLLING POWERBOMBS! LIGERBOMB! CROSSFACE! The ref immediately stops it at 02:48

Rating - N/A - Now that was a fun squash bout. Reckless got a couple of fun hope spots in, but otherwise took her licks and bumped around like crazy to put Athena over. The champion is so fun to watch right now, even in little three minute bursts like this. 

Not content with the victory, once again Athena humiliates an opponent by smashing her face into the belt.

Carter and Johnson are young talents whom have been developing on the lower rungs of AEW's roster for some time, so are looking to come to ROH and build their reputations, tonight at the expense of Dark Order's Silver and Reynolds. This Dark Order team have worked in ROH before, but not for many years. They follow Stu Grayson into Ring Of Honor, despite the mysterious presence of The Righteous seemingly stalking Grayson...

Silver and Johnson get us underway, and the experience of the Dark Order duo ensures they seize the initiative early. Cole tries to help his partner out but is soon put down by a flurry of elbow strikes from Reynolds. Johnson eventually distracts Reynolds on the apron, allowing Karter to tackle him off the apron, into the guardrails. It means the youngsters are able to isolate and work Alex over, and succeed for a couple of minutes before the inevitable hot tag to Silver...who press slams Johnson into a spear on Karter for 2! Cole retorts with a cheap-shot, firing Silver into a DVD from Johnson for 2. Lungblower by Reynolds, followed by a powerbomb over the knees to take out Johnson. Stunner/German combo gives Dark Order the win over Karter at 06:07

Rating - ** - There wasn't much to separate this from any other Dark/Elevation match in all honesty, and that is a problem. The action wasn't bad here at all, Reynolds and Silver are popular enough to elicit reactions from the crowd and both Johnson and Karter have plenty of potential...but there wasn't anything overly special about this. Or anything that makes it feel unique to Ring Of Honor.

As one half of the ROH Tag Champions, Penta has a target on his back for guys like Comoroto who know beating him would quickly elevate their status and even earn a title shot. The masked luchador will be looking to ensure this doesn't go long...

Comoroto stops Penta doing the gimmick where he tosses his glove to Alex Abrahantes, which immediately pisses the masked man off. It means he charges wildly into battle and gives Nick an opportunity to use his size advantage. He bullies Pentagon around the ring for the first couple of minutes...until Penta is finally able to quicken the pace and run into a Sling Blade. Spear from Comoroto to curtail his momentum! Penta counters a press slam attempt into a lungblower and dives into the Lanza double stomp for 2. SACRIFICE! Despite only having one arm after that Nick still manages to kick out. Fear Factor countered to an Ushigoroshi - but Comoroto can't cover because his arm is injured. SACRIFICE AGAIN! Penta wins at 05:38

Rating - ** - Given my well-documented love of Lucha Underground, of course I absolutely adored Pentagon's arm-breaking gimmick in that promotion, so it was a treat to see the Sacrifice treated with such reverence here. These guys actually did a good job fashioning a quick five minute strength vs speed battle. I'm not a particularly big Comoroto fan and often find him to be quite cumbersome but there was nothing wrong with what he did here, and he sold the arm really well. 

This is the first time Moriarty has made his way to Khan-owned ROH since Supercard Of Honor last year. He actually debuted at Death Before Dishonor 2021 in Sinclair's dying days, but was famously announced as signed to AEW just a few days before, therefore making ROH look rather silly. He is a perfect fit for the 'new Era Of Honor'; young, technically gifted and probably not getting enough opportunity to show the depth of his skill despite being part of The Firm and therefore appearing on Dynamite and Rampage relatively frequently. Takeshita is undefeated in ROH in 2023...

They lock up, which theoretically favours Lee who can use his technical wrestling skill to negate the size, power and athleticism of Takeshita. Konosuke soon breaks free and succeeds in quickening the pace, where even an athlete like Moriarty can't keep up with him. HUGE elbow strike floors Lee as well, as he clearly doesn't have the strike-power to rival the Japanese star. Moriarty hits a single arm DDT in retaliation, and when Takeshita leaves the ring he gives chase to send him careering into the barriers with a running knee strike right into the shoulder. By the time he gets back into the ring Takeshita's arm hangs limp by his side, which Lee immediately targets with strikes and submission holds. He goes full Marty Scurll and snaps Takeshita's fingers for good measure. The injured shoulder is repeatedly bashed into the turnbuckles from hammerlock position...eventually provoking Konosuke to use his good arm and start throwing elbow strikes back at his opponent. The arm gives out before he can deliver a German...BRAINBUSTER INSTEAD! Yakuza Kick flurry (with arm selling) by Takeshita! He climbs the ropes, albeit the bad arm is clearly slowing him down. Moriarty climbs after him, hooks up that injured arm and drives him to the mat with a superplex. Takeshita withstands Lee's inferior strikes...and GERMAN SUPLEXES Moriarty! NO SOLD! BLUE THUNDER DRIVER by Takeshita as well for 2. Zahi knee ducked, and Lee again grabs the injured arm and drops him with a dragon suplex. Crossface briefly applied, which Konosuke escapes in frantic fashion. There's a great sequence next where Lee desperately clings to the injured arm, even as Takeshita batters him with clubbing elbow strikes. Moriarty looks to pumphandle him, so Takeshita COUNTERS TO A TOMBSTONE...FOR 2! Chaos Theory COUNTERED to a Rainmaker by Moriarty for 2! He loads up the arm once more, but Konosuke wriggles free. ARM-SELLING GERMAN! RIPCORD ELBOW! ZAHI KNEE! Takeshita wins at 12:43

Rating - **** - Despite the rest of this episode being pretty mundane so far, this match absolutely saves the show and is up there with Athena/Sakura and Athena/Yamashita for best ROH Honor Club TV bout since they left Universal Studios after the first four episodes. The premise isn't complicated; Moriarty wasn't as quick, big or powerful as Takeshita, but he backed himself as a better technical wrestler and set about picking apart the arm in relentless fashion. Takeshita sold it with real sincerity and made Lee look outstanding even in defeat. The last couple of minutes were extremely good, and had the crowd (which is here for AEW and only has limited interest in these ROH tapings) really getting behind them. Moriarty needs to be in ROH far more often - he was far better here than he is in The Firm. Make sure you're using your Honor Club subscription to check this one out.

These two have clashed in AAA, GCW and Warrior among other promotions, developing a rivalry that Caprice tells us 'had to be brought to ROH'. Vikingo is the highly-sought after star of the AAA promotion and their reigning Mega Champion. Gringo's career is an interesting one; hailing from the Midwest but having competed extensively in Mexico, and now a mainstay in GCW. He has never made it to ROH before though, and he'd love to be the one who inflicts Vikingo's first defeat in Ring Of Honor...

Vikingo amazes us right out of the gate; standing on Loco's shoulders before dropping into a hurricanrana! He tries another headscissors soon after but Gringo cartwheels out of that. TOPE CON HILO MISSES for Vikingo! TOPE ATOMICO scores for Gringo! Back in the ring they paste each other with elbows, before Loco hits an inverted Olympic Slam to drive all the air out of his illusive opponent. Corkscrew moonsault misses for the American though, teeing up EHDV to climb the ropes. SPRINGBOARD SPANISH FLY by Gringo! Vikingo no-sells...right into an inverted Michinoku Driver for 2! Vikingo has taken multiple hits to his midsection and writhes on the canvas gasping for air. Temporarily unable to hit anything elaborate, he instead fights back with repeated superkicks to Loco's head...before CARTWHEELING up the ropes for a SPRINGBOARD RANA! INSIDE OUT SPRINGBOARD SOMERSAULT HURRICANRANA TO THE FLOOR! OUTSIDE IN PHOENIX SPLASH gets 2! Gringo desperately tries to hit a flying crossbody, but is so rattled he simply dives into a flatliner by the rampant Mega Champion. ROPE-WALK CORKSCREW MOONSAULT UP THE AISLE! He actually f*cking slipped as he leapt on that and still hit it! Gringo rolls out of the way of the 630 Senton...then dumps Vikingo face-first into the turnbuckles as he attempts another elaborate rana. TOP ROPE MILITARY PRESS DRIVER BY GRINGO! Somehow that's only 2, before Vikingo lands a DOUBLE SPRINGBOARD TWISTING REVERSE RANA! 630 SENTON! Vikingo wins at 12:18

Rating - **** - There is an argument to be made that this was better than Vikingo/Komander from Supercard Of Honor. That match was all about bonkers spots, and was a touch more spectacular than this. But I thought this had real substance and felt a lot more brutal, with Gringo looking to use his size and high impact offence in a fruitless attempt to wind and slow Vikingo down. It made for some great moments, particularly when Gringo Loco would counter one of EHDV's elaborate spots with something downright violent. In turn it actually made for a more organic set-up for Vikingo's high spots as well. He wasn't doing them to show off here, he was doing them because the fast, athletic sequences were where Gringo couldn't get near him and his best chance of delivering victory. 

It is an ROH debut for the Savages - Boulder and Bronson, formerly known as Bear Country. They are big, heavyweight dudes who have smashed around mostly on Dark and Elevation, now looking for an opportunity to showcase their talents in Ring Of Honor.

Boulder starts with Jones; smashing his own head into the turnbuckles to fire himself up then completely ignoring Ren's strikes. He press slams Jones into his own partner, before Bronson hits a sit-out piledriver planting him right into Lynch's midsection. Double body slam by Boulder, who then drops his own partner onto both opponents again. The Savages win at 02:20

Rating - N/A - Another Dark-esque squash match. Nothing wrong with it (I like the Savages and want to see them in more meaningful matches), but there have been too many of these on this episode.

Gringo Loco hopes he got Tony Khan's attention with his performance tonight, and confirms he has been invited back to ROH in future...

Beloved veteran Cabana hasn't been in Ring Of Honor for a while, but he makes a popular return and goes right into battle with a familiar old foe. As he referenced earlier, he has previously challenged the legendary Joe during both his World and Pure Title reigns; unsuccessfully on both occasions. Joe will be looking to maintain that dominance and ensure his status as the King Of Television remains undisputed.

Colt jokes around and messes with Joe, who doesn't crack and retains his laser-focus on his challenger. Colt takes evasive action and tries sneak up the champ with his usual grappling...but walks right into a reverse elbow smash which almost knocks him out of his boots. Joe starts targeting the neck and shoulder, which Cabana has heavily taped up in the locker room. He looks for an early Musclebuster but Colt headbutts his way free. Bionic Elbow follows, right into the Flying Asshole. Moonsault GETS KNEES! CHOKE! Colt taps instantly at 05:39

Rating - *** - As an ROH fan going back to 2002, clearly I have an affinity with both of these performers, which certainly gives this rating an element of bias. I'm not sure I'd have put this in the main event slot of the episode, but it was a neat little greatest hits package of what these guys do together. Colt goofs off to unsettle Joe and causes him problems with his unorthodox World Of Sport influences, but finds himself unable to stop the constant, brutal onslaught of the champion. I thought Joe going after Colt's taped up neck/shoulder was a nice touch of detail which they didn't need to include given how short they were going. Neither of these two are at the apex of their careers, so this was a pretty reasonable outing and probably the best one could expect from them in 2023, with only five minutes in the ring together.

Tape Rating - ** - This format isn't working. It would be remiss of me not to firstly point out that the Takeshita/Moriarty and Vikingo/Gringo matches are brilliant - two of the best bouts in the entire eight episode run thus far - but that doesn't do enough to cover up quite a clumsy viewing experience. These tapings on the road with AEW Dynamite/Rampage have veered too far into Dark territory for me and I think Khan needs to re-evaluate how he's laying out ROH TV. The whole show would be a more worthwhile experience (and feel like better value for money on the $10 per month paywall it resides behind) if they ditched the squashes and just had 4-6 high quality bouts each week. Actually, I don't even have problem with a few Dark-esque squash matches, but if he wants to put them on ROH TV instead of free on YouTube, then he needs to offset them with more higher quality content. Kingdom vs Andretti/Martin only getting six minutes was a bizarre decision and they should have gotten at least double that. Cutting one or two of the squashes to give an extra five minutes to the main event or either of the Vikingo/Gringo or Takeshita/Moriarty matches would have been preferable. A handful of good 8-12 minute matches spread across the month don't feel like enough value for money out of the 'new' Ring Of Honor when presented alongside the sheer volume of forgettable filler content these last few episodes have presented us with. This episode is far from a waste of time; use your Honor Club subscription to seek out the two show-stealing matches, the Kingdom tag to open the show is solid for the time they were given and I like that we appear to be getting some kind of new storyline with Willow and the Renegades...but man there was a LOT of padding that bloated this episode.