McXal's Reviews

We return to Universal Studios for this episode of Honor Club TV, with attention now starting to turn to Death Before Dishonor 20 in July. Announced matches for this include Willow Nightingale defending her newly won NJPW Strong Women's Title against Rachael Ellering (making her first ROH appearance since 2016), LFI's Dralistico looking to bridge a significant size gap against Willie Mack, Kiera Hogan trying to get over the disappointment of failing to dethrone Athena last week with a match against Robyn Renegade, veteran Christopher Daniels taking on Aussie Open's Kyle Fletcher and a main event which sees Tag Champion Rey Fenix face the debuting Gravity (who is apparently the younger brother of Bandido). Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman and Nigel McGuinness call the action from Orlando, FL.

Fletcher of Aussie Open is competing in singles action as his tag partner is still out injured. He and Mark Davis defeated Daniels and Sydal during the first batch of ROH TV tapings at Universal Studios, which is a defeat the former ROH World, Tag, TV and Six-Man Champion would surely like to avenge here.

Daniels quickly lures the Australian into trading holds on the canvas where he can use his experience and nullify the skills of his adversary. Kyle's height, power and athleticism mean he is able to keep the veteran at bay, but Daniels repeatedly finds ways to take him off his feet and stretch a body part. After a few minutes Fletcher finally snaps and almost drops Daniels on his head with a body slam! Daniels doesn't like that at all; reacting defensively by snapping off a flurry of swinging neckbreakers. Before Kyle can get back to his feet Daniels swarms him with kicks and chops to the neck which leave him curled up in pain on the canvas. Riccaboni informs us that Fletcher actually sustained a neck injury in a New Japan match featuring Tanahashi a few weeks ago, adding some depth to his struggles as he frantically battles to hoist Daniels up for a suplex. MICHINOKU DRIVER gets 2 for the Aussie! But Daniels drops him again, diving off the ropes into a swinging flatliner which wrenches the neck again. Koji Clutch applied! Kyle's long limbs mean he can reach the ropes, but not before yet more damage is inflicted on his ailing neck however. Next they collide throwing clotheslines in the middle of the ring - of course with Kyle snapping down to the mat holding his neck again. Daniels even actually pulls himself back to his feet USING Kyle's neck which is f*cking awesome. GERMAN SUPLEX NAILED! KYLE NO SELLS! HALF NELSON SUPLEX ON DANIELS! NO SOLD! BACK DROP DRIVER BY DANIELS! Fletcher desperately blocks the urinage slam prelude to the BME...but in return Daniels counters the Grimstone to a small package and gets 2. Angel's Wings blocked! GRIMSTONE PILEDRIVER! Fletcher wins at 11:18

Rating - **** - An absolute banger, probably the best ROH TV match of the last few weeks and a second consecutive thrilling singles match for Fletcher after his blockbuster with AR Fox a couple of weeks ago. He was great in his role here, but the veteran masterclass from Daniels was what really caught my eye. Yes it all got a bit overblown, frantic and silly with all the big spots at the end - but even before that Daniels was on fire. The way he attacked the match - subtly undermining and negating all of Fletcher's obvious advantages before clinically dismantling the Australian's neck and pushing himself to the cusp of victory - was a pleasure to watch. The last few weeks of TV had left me leaving a break from these ROH reviews. This was a welcome reminder of why I enjoy pro-wrestling so much...

Two men with different ambitions collide here. Sydal has made it known he wants a TV Title shot (and doesn't care whether it's ROH or NJPW's he challenges for), whilst 'The Reality' Zack Clayton is trying to establish a foothold in ROH along with new partner Cole Karter (who is at ringside with him). Clearly a win for either man here advances their particular cause significantly.

Clayton is a bigger guy than Matt, and mocks him for it during the Code Of Honor...which Sydal takes offence to and blasts him with a running rana for 2. Zack tries to power through his opponent, but Sydal has been hit by bigger and stronger guys and is able to withstand the strike and level him with a roundhouse kick. Cole Karter momentarily distracts him though...allowing Clayton to catch him with a big powerslam. Superplex blocked by Matt...and he scrambles to the top again for the Meteora! Sydal wins at 03:05

Rating - * - I understood the objective of this one; namely to give Sydal a strong performance whilst they are building him up for a title shot and also giving Clayton a chance to shine. The issue I had is that I've not really been overly impressed with Zack Clayton yet, I didn't find him particularly good here and would much rather have watched Sydal wrestling Cole Karter in all honesty. The forthcoming Joe/Sydal TV Title match will be a fun clash of ROH veterans if they get any kind of time allowance at least...

Sydal grabs a mic and once again lays down a challenge to Samoa Joe. He says Joe can't call himself a true 'King Of Television' until he's beaten him...

Ian Riccaboni puts over Dralistico's multiple AEW appearances recently, but somewhat glosses over LFI's relative lack of creative direction within either promotion. They're pretty much just rudos who have the same kind of matches every week without much progression. Willie Mack has largely fulfilled the same role in ROH; showing up, having good matches without winning very many, rinse and repeat. This should be an intriguing battle of size against agility. How will Mack - who was a standout in Lucha Underground and someone who receives plaudits for the unexpected lucha influences to his work - cope with a genuine, highly skilled luchador? How will Dralistico cope with someone the size and agility of Willie?

Dralistico flips Willie off then LAUNCHES HIMSELF AT HIM with a tope atomico! He smashes Mack against the ring-steps and returns to the ring with a springboard swanton bomb for 2. The luchador has dominated the opening minutes and stops only to do the Ingobernable taunts which his brother Rush is well-known for. Willie grabs some respite and BLASTS Dralistico with a running knee strike. SOMERSAULT PLANCHA takes out both Dralistico and Jose The Assistant! Jose grabs Mack's legs to slow him down, and the luchador capitalises to hit a springboard double stomp in the ropes. They take turns lighting each other up with chops, which dissolves into a violent strike exchange before they both tumble to the canvas with their ears ringing. Samoan drop/standing moonsault combo gets 2 for The Mack. He lines up the Frog Splash - but dives right into Dralistico's knees. Incineration by Dralistico (shades of his brother Dragon Lee) gets 2! POP-UP ELBOW by Willie! Jose The Assistant distracts Mack again, allowing Dralistico to deliver a low blow, then another Incinerator knee strike to win at 07:41

Rating - *** - It sounds dismissive when I say that this was quite predictable, but it really was. I don't mean that entirely negatively - it was a fun match, fought at a quick pace with lots of exciting sequences that the crowd really enjoyed...which is entirely what you'd expect from experienced wrestlers of this calibre. Similarly, it ended with LFI (the more established act across the AEW/ROH landscape) cheating to win in somewhat bland, non-descript fashion...which if you've watched their stuff in either promotion is - again - wholly predictable. In short, much as I'd suggested in my introductory paragraph - Willie showed up, had a good match, lost, then left. Dralistico/LFI delivered another interesting luchador performance, pulled off a few rudo tricks...then left. The fans (and I) enjoyed a fun-filled match, but the long-term gains/significance here feels marginal at best.

ROH owner Tony Khan steps out onto the stage to address the live crowd, firstly to confirm that Joe vs Sydal for the TV Title is official for next week. He admits that he has a lot of responsibilities across AEW and ROH, so has decided to form a 'Board Of Directors' to assist him with running Ring Of Honor. He introduces Stokely Hathaway and Jerry Lynn as the two men who are joining him on the Board.

Willow defeated Mercedes Mone to become the new NJPW Strong Women's Champion, and immediately comes to ROH to defend her crown this week on television. This is actually an ROH return for Ellering, who made her ROH debut back in 2016 losing to Kennadi Brink (now WWE referee Jessika Carr). Since then Ellering has spent time in Stardom, NXT, Impact and more so is an extremely dangerous challenger even for someone as powerful as Nightingale.

I can't be the only one who finds Riccaboni and Coleman's antics during Willow's entrance incredibly annoying. I love their work as a team but I can't stand this gimmick and cannot wait for it to end. Rachael tries to wrestle with her in a clear effort to keep her on the ground and negate her power. Nightingale fights her way free and duly tries to bully and bludgeon the challenger; delivering slams, crossbody blocks and suplexes in an imposing display of her brute force. Babe With The Power Bomb blocked though, with Ellering peeling off her elbow bad and rocking Willow with an elbow strike (a shout-out to Chris Hero, which Nigel acknowledges on commentary). Rachael is struggling with her breathing after the last onslaught from the champ but she still climbs into Willow, trying to curtail her momentum as much as possible. Missile dropkick from Nightingale, setting her up to repeatedly drag Ellering into a flurry of clotheslines. BossWoman Slam by Ellering for 2! POUNCE LAUNCHES HER INTO THE ROPES! Brutal by Willow...but even then Rachael defiantly tries to counter her pinning attempt into a roll-up of her own. Nightingale dumps her with a spinebuster then climbs into a Camel Clutch which forces Ellering to tap out at 06:48

Rating - *** - It began like a fairly generic enhancement match for Willow, with Ellering getting no entrance and having all of her early offence swatted aside with ease. But the back half of this match was incredibly enjoyable with Ellering given considerable rope to show off her skills as these two powerful female athletes really tore into each other physically. And because the match was unexpectedly aggressive and hard-hitting, the fact that Willow was able to power her way to victory - even introducing a new submission finish to her repertoire makes her feel even more imposing. 

This is a Six-Man Title Proving Ground Match, meaning if the Shinobi Shadow Squad and Kross can somehow avoid defeat, they'll earn a title shot. Cage, Kaun and Toa are on a dominant tear and are an established trio - do their opponents stand any chance?

Isom and Cage start; Eli trying unsuccessfully to use his speed to stay out of the clutches of The Machine. Liona continues the assault until Isom scurries away and makes a tag to CB. Unfortunately Burger is also swatted aside with ease, then brutalised by both Gates of Agony at once. Kross is the last man standing for his team...until he is decapitated by a lariat from Kaun. Buckle Bomb from Cage to Isom, apron senton from Liona to Kross! Kaun pins Kross to win at 04:59

Rating - * - Largely the same squash we've seen multiple times over from this Embassy trio. It isn't bad; they're actually quite fun pulverising smaller victims like their opponents tonight. But it has become extremely repetitive watching them do this over and over without anything progressing or developing. 

Vert is 0-2 in Ring Of Honor thus far, despite spirited performances in her matches against Robyn Renegade and Kiera Hogan. Her quest to get a first ROH win continues here, albeit with the daunting prospect of facing Mercedes Martinez - who has been in imperious form since making her return.

No feeling out process in this one - they both explode out of the gate throwing big strikes in an effort to get ahead. Vixen backs herself to trade blows with the OG Badass...who utterly FLATTENS her with a Saito suplex! Vert rolls to the apron and lures Martinez in; popping up to trip her then hit a tumbling Stunner variant into a blue thunder driver for 2. GERMAN SUPLEX by Martinez! Elevated swinging neckbreaker gets 2, and leaves Vixen with a glazed look on her face. Martinez NAILS an elbow to the back of the head then grabs the Brass City Sleeper to win at 04:16

Rating - ** - A lively affair here with Mercedes at her brutal best, against an opponent who had no problem taking some brutal bumps but also had plenty of firepower in her locker to lay some big shots back in Mercedes' direction. 

To my mind matches like this are exactly what I envisioned Khan's ROH to be about. Two bright young prospects who don't get much time to develop or shine on AEW television being given more of a spotlight and more time in the ring in order to improve. The only question is whether they'll get enough time for this to deliver anything of real substance.

Griff gets a nice 'welcome back' chant having missed some time through injury and he swiftly uses his height to put a foot through Moriarty's face. Lee quickly hammerlocks the arm and shunts it into the turnbuckles; trying to injure Garrison the moment it seems like his height and range will cause a problem. Griff's arm hangs limp by his side momentarily...but he then uses it with relatively no issue as he lands a flurry of comeback slams. Rolling elbow almost knocks Lee out cold, before Moriarty grabs the trunks then snares Griff in a bridging roll-up to snatch the win at 04:13

Rating - * - I like both competitors, but I didn't think this match was particularly good. It was so short it was borderline pointless (hardly their fault), and the only real thread we were given to relate to (Moriarty attacking the shoulder) was then completely ignored by Griff whenever he was on offence. Short, forgettable, Dark-esque. Which is probably how you could sum up around half of ROH's match content in 2023...

It was just last week that Hogan unsuccessfully challenged Athena for the Women's Championship; pushing the Fallen Goddess to the limit but failing to take the belt from her. But the circumstances behind her defeat were controversial and she will be desperate for a rematch - meaning she needs victories over competitive opponents like Renegade...

Kiera wastes no time in hammering into Renegade with a hip attack against the ropes, then a Rocker Dropper for 2. To her credit, Robyn refuses to be bullied and gets right back up to stomp Hogan into the corner. She starts stretching and striking at Hogan's shoulder - which is covered in tape and evidently not 100%. It leaves Kiera fighting with one arm...therefore going back to using her hips and legs to take the battle to her opponent. Charlette Renegade sneaks out and tries to Robyn under the ring, but is taken out with a baseball slide from Hogan before she can complete the switch. Robyn is dragged inside, kicked in the head and pinned at 04:31

Rating - * - My criticism of this is largely the same as it was for the Griff/Lee match that preceded it. To be fair, I thought Kiera's selling was better than Griff's - but that was offset by the tedious Renegade sister switch tease, which didn't add any drama at all and felt incredibly cheap. So many of these matches feel incredibly similar - too short, heels cheat, nobody has any character development. That feels like AEW Dark, not vintage Ring Of Honor...

Athena charges to the ring and attacks Kiera from behind, only for Hogan to steal the kendo stick she'd been armed with and quite literally SHATTER it across the torso of the Women's Champion. Kiera poses with the title belt, much to Athena's fury...

Dark Order are in turmoil following the apparent defection of Stu Grayson to The Righteous. Can the rest of the team get back on track with a win over the dangerous Taylor/WorkHorsemen trio tonight?

Silver makes a beeline for Taylor and does his best to trade strikes with the biggest man on the opposition team. It takes all three members of Dark Order to pummel Taylor to the mat. Henry takes a cheap-shot at Reynolds to ensure that Taylor has a quick escape, setting up the WorkHorsemen to isolate Alex for the next few minutes. Taylor hits his version of the Tower Of London - except off the shoulders of Drake rather than out of the corner - for 2. Reynolds scoots away and makes a crucial tag to Uno - who sends Henry spinning across the ring with a vicious slap to the face. Shane T dives in to break the pin after Evil lands a big brainbuster as well. He and Uno trade beefy strikes...ending when Taylor lands his SAVAGE right hand punch. JD inadvertently levels Taylor with a mafia kick though, handing the advantage back to Dark Order. Silver and Reynolds hit a Stunner/German suplex combo on Drake to win at 07:20

Rating - ** - The clear highlight of this match was that Taylor/Uno exchange in the closing stages. Shane Taylor has been very under-rated during this current run in the 'new ROH', always over-delivering despite being given very little to do. Even this trio with The WorkHorsemen feels completely chucked together with absolutely no explanation for their alliance (even though it goes against Taylor's entire ethos in the previous era of ROH of building up unappreciated black talents like SOS, O'Shay Edwards etc). I never really felt like Dark Order were a team 'reeling' from the recent events involving Stu Grayson though, and that was my biggest issue with this. For the most part it felt like Silver, Reynolds, Drake and Henry just rattling through their usual routine...and once again that makes this feel MUCH more like Dark than it does any resemblance to the best years of Ring Of Honor. I feel like I'm getting as repetitive as some of ROH's booking...

Dasha Gonzalez interviews The Righteous backstage, after they'd been watching Dark Order compete in the previous match. Stu Grayson says he 'wasn't impressed' with their performance, whilst Vincent doesn't think they are aggressive enough. He tells viewers to 'tune in next week' to see some real aggression...

We've returned full circle to the very earliest shows in Khan-era ROH as Fox joins a random, thrown together trio to face the Trust Busters. Andretti and Martin are still riding the high of their Fight Without Honor victory over The Kingdom and cannot afford a defeat here...

Fox and J have some fun going back and forth at a rapid pace from the bell, until AR lands the twisting suplex. Andretti and Martin lay in some double-teams on Kay as he looks to rescue Slim, culminating with Action landing a savage shotgun dropkick in the corner. Sonny hauls Jeeves aside causing Andretti to collide with the ringpost - and he is still reeling from that as she lands the handspring palm strike spot she is known to bust out. PRESS SLAM by Kiss, into a standing moonsault for 2! Split-leg drop gets another nearfall for Kiss, as she earns the longest spell of dominance that the Trust Busters have enjoyed all night. Andretti somersaults over Slim J for a tag to Darius...who charges in and plants Slim with a bizarre pumphandle facebuster for 2. Kiss makes the save by tossing J into a Shiranui on Martin for 2. SPRINGBOARD ARKO by Fox! Andretti and Martin hit a double spinebuster on Kay to win at 06:02

Rating - ** - It was a filler match with no real purpose other than giving these six something to do, but in that context this was fine. Andretti and Martin looked like a fluent team, Fox was exciting as he has been throughout this run on ROH television, and on the Trust Busters side I thought Sonny Kiss made the most of her time in the ring to really shine as well. The right team won, but it really is impossible to escape the feeling that the momentum Darius and Action gained from that Fight Without Honor has already been wasted.

Speaking of post-Fight Without Honor momentum, the losing half of that match are in action next looking for a third consecutive victory in as many weeks (following wins over the Mack Attack on Ep. 13 and The Infantry on Ep. 14). Their opponents don't get a ring introduction, but are freelance luchadors. Both have worked in the US before for the likes of MLW and Cagematch suggests they have been a regular team under Cobarde's previous gimmick of 'El Hijo del Imposter'. Google informs me that 'Cobarde' means 'coward' in Spanish - so having not seen him before I'm curious to see how that gimmick plays out.

Matt Taven's purple sequinned jacket looks like something my grandmother would've worn for a night at the bingo with her friends - it is quite a sight. He starts with Cobarde, and the luchador flips and spins out of his grasp multiple times over before dropkicking the former World Champion back into The OGK's corner. Bennett says Dragon's flips are 'for little kids' and demands they exchange chops instead. He duly gets busted WIDE open during that strike exchange and is soon covered in blood. He still smashes Cobarde off the apron, whilst Taven jumps Dragon from behind. Double rana from Dragon to The Kingdom! TORNILLO by Dragon - with Taven shoving his partner out of the way. Bennett hits the Boston Bayonet, but has turned his back on El Cobarde who FLIES into a somersault plancha! Purple Thunder Driver from Taven to Dragon gets 2. Aurora Borealis misses though, allowing El Dragon to make a crucial tag to Cobarde. Together they charge Taven and hit a DUDLEY DEATH DROP for 2! The canvas is absolutely covered in splatters of Bennett's blood by this point. He scoops Cobarde up for a DVD/Just The Tip combo. Proton Pack nailed, and The OGK beat Cobarde at 05:27

Rating - *** - This was a real adrenaline rush of a match, which would have been fun even without the unplanned head-wound for Bennett and became even more dramatic once that injury had been sustained. Bennett showed real courage to continue and barely miss a step, because he was covered in blood despite the actual incident looking relatively innocuous. They only had five minutes out there but blasted through a host of fun sequences. The Kingdom - as they've done so regularly in ROH during 2023 - were excellent as the villainous, grounded, heel duo for newer, younger, more spectacular acts to work around. I was never shy to criticise Taven (and how he was booked) in previous iterations of Ring Of Honor, but without getting much praise or attention he and Bennett are having a great year.

The Board Of Directors are back on the stage before the main event, and apparently Stokely has already floated the idea of 'mass layoffs' to help save Tony Khan some money. Stokely next suggests that next week Action Andretti have a handicap match against the entire Embassy. This is a weird dynamic? Tony Khan hears that and suggests that instead it'll be The Embassy defending the Six-Man Titles against Andretti, Darius Martin and AR Fox. Hathaway also proposes banning Lucha Libre from ROH...which Tony laughs off and instead looks forward to the lucha main event we have in store...

It has been hard to get the Lucha Bros onto ROH shows since they became Tag Champions at Supercard Of Honor which is a shame, but Fenix has made it here tonight and goes straight into the main event against a luchador making his ROH debut. He is the younger brother of former World Champion Bandido, 'Gravity' is here and looking to make an instant impact.

They start with some intricate stuff, to such an extent that the referee actually misses a couple of pinning attempts. Gravity has some fun moving in slow motion, but then springs into life to fling Rey out of the ring momentarily. Fenix decides to slow the pace and utilise big strikes since he can't out-run Gravity, and he soon has the debutant vulnerable on the canvas. He almost takes his head off with a superkick...but Gravity slithers to the apron to slingshot off the ropes and armdrag the tag champion to the floor. STEP-UP PLANCHA to the floor! Gravity has Fenix scouted as well; countering Rey's signature tumbling cutter into a powerslam for 2. Rack bomb gets another nearfall as the newcomer continues to unsettle the Tag Champion. Springboard heel kick by Fenix - again going to strikes and submissions to nullify Gravity. Somersault cutter again countered, and Fenix actually starts going for flash pins just to get the better of his opponent. Triangle choke COUNTERED with a sit-out powerbomb by Gravity! Top rope body press misse for Gravity, allowing Fenix to RUN THE ROPES AND KICK HIM IN THE FACE! Fenix Driver COUNTERED TO A CRUCIFIX DRIVER by Gravity! FINALLY Fenix lands the somersault cutter! FENIX DRIVER! Rey wins at 10:38

Rating - *** - I thought the central premise this match carried was excellent. Gravity was presented like an immediate star in the way he was able to consistently out-run and overwhelm even someone as rapid as Fenix with his speed and agility. And in return, I loved that Fenix recognised that and switched up his attack to largely focus on big strikes and offensive bombs because he KNEW he couldn't keep up with his opponent. There were some moments of sloppiness and I thought the referee (apologies, I didn't catch his name) was exceptionally poor - to the point that it actually hurt the match on a few occasions - but this was another one of those immensely entertaining Lucha Libre main events that Khan-era ROH has started to become known for.

Tape Rating - ** - The show started and ended well, but with a heavy lag in the middle as the episode ground to a halt with a succession of insipid Dark/Elevation matches which were of minimal interest. This really would be such a tighter product if they cut the crap and just had a core crew putting on a solid 90 minute wrestling show each week...but unfortunately that isn't what the 'new ROH' is. The new 'Board Of Directors' stuff is incredibly bizarre as well, albeit Stokely Hathaway is entertaining enough to make his apparent new role as a disingenuous 'stooge' director sucking up to Tony Khan work. This episode is certainly worth a cursory watch at least. Fletcher/Daniels is really super, and there are several entertaining matches to pick out from the rest of the show as well.