McXal's Reviews

Two championship matches highlight the card for the sixteenth episode of Ring Of Honor's new adventure on their in-house Honor Club platform. Tonight we'll see Samoa Joe defend the TV Title against fellow ROH stalwart Matt Sydal, whilst in the main event the dominant Six-Man Champions from The Embassy will defend their championship against challengers AR Fox, Darius Martin and Action Andretti. We also have The Righteous in action, Athena once again in the Proving Ground as well as a Road Rage match that sees Daniel Garcia stepping back into the Pure Division for the first time since his rivalry with Wheeler Yuta last year. Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman and Nigel McGuinness call the action in Orlando, FL.

EARLIER TODAY - Matt Sydal tells Dasha that he isn't the little kid he used to be in ROH, and that tonight is his night to dethrone Joe and become the new TV Champion. Joe himself, meanwhile, seems bristling with rage that Sydal dared to call him out and plans to teach him a lesson...

We kick off with one of the most hotly anticipated bouts of the week, and a collision between two Ring Of Honor veterans. They've even teamed up to challenge for the Tag Titles in the past, but tonight Matt Sydal looks to realise his ambition of holding a singles championship in the company at the expense of the Samoan legend. 

The pre-match handshake is decidedly frosty, and Joe quickly acts to pummel the challenger into the corner. Sydal tries quick kicks to get a foothold in the match - driving the champion out of the ring and hitting a METEORA OFF THE APRON! Once again Joe suppresses Sydal with a pounding in the corner, decisively acting to slow his opponent down at every turn. Misawa-esque Facelock applied...then more stomps in the corner as Matt tries to crawl away. Sydal somehow fires back with a spinning heel kick, delivered so forcefully that he lands right on top of the champ before tumbling through the ropes to the outside. Joe tries to powerbomb him...but Sydal counters with a blistering snap rana! He scrambles to the top rope and hits a second Meteora for a close nearfall. He thinks about a Sydal Press...but Joe catches him on the top rope! MUSCLE BUSTER!!!! Joe retains at 06:44

Rating - *** - Fun for what it was. Sydal troubled Joe with his speed and precise kicking, but ultimately couldn't inflict enough damage before being absolutely squashed by the dominant champion. I came away pretty disappointed though. This is a match which got a few weeks of hype on television and was one of the marquee matches for the episode. I know Joe isn't really in a place where he wrestles sixty minute draws anymore, but could they seriously not find 10-12 minutes for these clever, canny veteran wrestlers to produce something more substantial? Perhaps selfishly, I'd wanted more from this one.

Comoroto is looking for his first Ring Of Honor victory, and has the debuting Deimos in his sights tonight. A quick Cagematch search on Deimos reveals that he has been wrestling for almost twenty years, so certainly has enough experience to threaten Nick tonight. He is a big dude as well, and has Teal Piper in his corner.

Nick's goofy routine with the lollipop is not over and needs to go. They make a huge mess of a body slam spot in the first minute too which doesn't help. Deimos shunts Comoroto out of the ring, before they both start brawling on the floor. Comoroto manages to toss his opponent into the steps, and lifts him for a big powerslam as soon as they return to the ring. Deimos is so powerful that he absorbs a lot of the damage though, before levelling Nick with a spinebuster. Comoroto retreats to the ropes, then uses them to guillotine his tall foe. That sets up an Alabamaslam and a win for Nick at 05:14

Rating - * - I momentarily thought about going lower on the rating for this one. If you have any doubts that Tony Khan's failure to get a 'proper' TV deal for ROH has relegated the promotion to becoming a rebranded AEW Dark then matches like this make it pretty difficult to dispute. It was long, uninspired and pretty boring to watch all told. Neither man looked particularly good in my opinion, but to end on a positive note - I do think that (dumbass lollipop skit aside), the presentation of Comoroto as a more serious, bruising brute of a worker is a smart and much-improved presentation for him. 

The Foundation are here, still clawing to try and earn a more permanent spot in the new ROH. Their opponents are undefeated in ROH in 2023 though...

Williams and Bronson start, with the big man immediately crushing the former TV Champion with a big suplex. Hot Sauce does better with Boulder; trapping him in a hanging armbar momentarily. Stereo press slams from the Savages quickly quell any momentum The Foundation were able to build though. Rhett tries his best to fight both Savages himself though and drops Bronson with the belly to belly suplex. DOUBLE sidewalk slam from Boulder to both opponents! The Foundation retaliate with a double DVD on him for 2, with Bronson diving in to break the pin. They hit the old ANX atomic drop/clothesline combo as well, with Boulder momentarily incapacitated on the outside. Boulder returns to save his partner from Tracy's piledriver. Bronson then scoops Titus up for a SIT-OUT PILEDRIVER ON TOP OF WILLIAMS! Electric Chair Splash kills of Hot Sauce, giving the Savages victory at 04:57

Rating - ** - Fans who watched through the Sinclair era (and long-time ROH fans with an affinity to Rhett) might feel a twinge of sadness watching this. It is sad to watch Tracy and Rhett relegated to heat-less cannon-fodder for acts like the Iron Savages who are WAY down the AEW/ROH totem pole...but they performed their role with typical excellence and for what this match was, I thought it was decent. Boulder and Bronson again impressed (albeit wrestling pretty much exactly the same match as they did in their previous two ROH bouts), and were made to look even more impressive by how hard the former Tag Champions were working to put them over.

Dasha stands by to interview The WorkHorsemen. They are pissed off that FTR randomly interfered in their business, and tonight Anthony Henry plans to take out that frustration on their friend Mark Briscoe...

After accompanying Deimos a couple of matches earlier, Teal Piper now makes her own in-ring debut. She is, of course, Roddy Piper's daughter - and enters with bagpipe entrance theme, black leather jacket, red tartan gear and all. Her opponent is a dangerous veteran, and Diamante enters this on the back of consecutive victories over Trish Adora and Promise Braxton. 

Diamante tries to intimidate Piper by refusing to let go after the pre-match handshake. She hits a neckbreaker in the ropes and crunches her to the floor with a baseball slide seconds later. Diamante continues to swarm Piper, bloodying her nose with relentless strikes across the face. Teal gamely retaliates with a few strikes of her own, then a sidewalk slam. Diamante has seen enough and chokes her out with a stranglehold at 04:10

Rating - DUD - This was a rough watch. Piper didn't have a great night and was essentially being dragged, hauled and carried through the match by Diamante (who didn't look particularly happy about it either). 

I've complained heavily about ROH effectively becoming a replacement Dark, but one of the people I've enjoyed watching in ROH this year is Tony Nese. He's an under-stated but extremely effective worker and has generally made the most of the additional exposure his time in this promotion has brought him. Serpentico has bounced in and out of ROH this year as well, performing exactly the same way he has on any AEW-branded programming you might have seen him on. Having said that, his last match - teaming with Angelico and Jack Cartwheel to face Vikingo, Komander and Bandido - was by far his best. Can he carry on that momentum?

Nese tries to stop the show and lead the crowd in a workout instead, which Serpentico duly interrupts. Tony starts the match at a methodical pace, whilst Ari Daivari at ringside laying in the occasional cheap shot as well. It is quite literally five minutes of near-uninterrupted dominance from the Premier Athlete, before Serpentico at last dodges a springboard moonsault and builds up some speed. TURNBUCKLE GERMAN SUPLEX by Nese! Running K-Neese strike wins it at 06:04

Rating - * - Well don't I look foolish for having praised both men so highly in my intro paragraph now. This match was a strange viewing experience, and felt like it was in completely the wrong promotion. The pre-match antics from Nese and Daivari ensured they got plenty of kids booing them, and therefore cheering for the guy in the colourful mask...but then they spent the first five minutes of the match utterly crushing Serpentico in a completely tedious and uninteresting manner. The last minute was pretty fun, but that's about it.

Kiera Hogan has some interview time...but it's actually Athena dressed up and making fun of her. The actual Kiera Hogan jumps Athena from behind to end the segment...

If you regularly follow by ROH reviews you'll know that I enjoy the work of the 'Lucha Baddie' Miranda Alize. She was great in 2021, and has done good things even in her limited role under Tony Khan's ownership too. She's still on the hunt for her first victory in the new era though.

Alize slaps Mimi across the face, and the youngster slaps her right back to get us underway. Miranda tackles her into the turnbuckles before delivering the running facewash and a basement dropkick for good measure. The sliding basement rana gets 2 as Alize continues her imposing start. Ace Crusher blocked once, but Alize lands it the second time of asking...then plasters Mimi with the Drive-By to win at 03:08

Rating - N/A - Short, to the point, and rewarding to see Alize pick up a much-deserved victory. The big upside of the 'new ROH' is how many women's matches there are, and Miranda absolutely deserves a spot in that roster as she's consistently impressed.

Last week The Righteous promised we'd see what real aggression looks like, after being unimpressed by how Dark Order struggled to defeat Shane Taylor and The WorkHorsemen. Stu Grayson has apparently revelled in that new mentality after seemingly cutting ties with his old friends. Dalton & The Boys are former ROH Six-Man Champions though (winning their second run with those belts at the expense of The Righteous), and no easy opposition for them. One of The Boys (Brent apparently) was injured by The Embassy recently, and is only just returning to action.

Grayson is still not actually announced as part of Righteous by the way. Brent tries to blind-side Vincent early but his fire is pretty easily suppressed by a gleeful Marseglia. To be fair to Vincent, he still seems pretty happy even after Brent catches him with a couple of dropkicks...and smiles broadly as he unleashes Stu for the first time. He shakes off both Boys before throwing Brandon across the ring with a suplex. Vincent then distracts Castle on the outside, allowing Stu to attack him and bounce his face off the ringpost. Grayson, Dutch and Marseglia take turns working the isolated Brandon over for a couple of minutes...and Grayson then hammers Brent with a big lariat the second he gets a tag as well. Dalton finally tags in, scooping Grayson up and launching him right into Dutch with a big suplex. Righteous block the Boy Toss tope spot...and then when Dalton tries the Heat Seeking Missile Dutch simply catches him and throws him into the steps. Brandon is left alone with The Righteous, who hit a pretty cool looking triple team T-Gimmick/facebuster move to win at 07:24

Rating - ** - I'm completely fatigued and uninterested by anything Dalton & The Boys are doing since it's the same act I've watched for the last eight years, but the stuff with The Righteous and Vincent is one of the few genuine, on-going storylines within the ROH universe right now and I liked how that was presented here. Grayson once again looked like he was revelling in his new environment, whilst Vincent and Dutch were great as the giddy puppet-masters behind him. They did a much better job with their end of this angle than Dark Order did last week.

The Dark Order are backstage and watched that match. They accept that Grayson has gone, and Uno delivers an ominous reminder that The Righteous aren't Stu's 'brothers'. He wants to find out if they'll 'bleed for [him]' the same way Dark Order have for Grayson in the past...

Proving Ground rules again for Athena, who has taken great relish in facing all comers in this stipulation. Adora has been training at the NJPW Academy and has plenty of experience already in a Ring Of Honor ring. She has her entrance back tonight too and feels like she is ready to earn herself a Women's Title shot.

Athena delays locking up with Adora because she's enjoying the crowd cheering for her, even though it enables Trish to run out a minute of the time-limit before they even touch. The champ continues to play mind-games with Adora, mocking her stance and posing to the crowd again during their early exchanges. Riccaboni suggests that Athena recognises Adora's power, technical and brawling ability...and she even retreats to the floor after Adora trips her face-first into the turnbuckles. It lures Trish towards the ropes, which Athena capitalises on to wrench her leg between them...before dropkicking her knee-first into the steps. Back in the ring she starts testing the injured leg with submission holds then screams abuse right in her face. GERMAN SUPLEX FROM HER KNEES because Trish can't stand! LEG-SELLING BACKBREAKER! Trish screams in pain, yet somehow collapses into a powerslam for 2. Athena kicks at the injured leg again, then wheelbarrows her KNEE-FIRST INTO THE TURNBUCKLES! O-FACE NAILED! Athena wins at 07:10

Rating - *** - We're 75-minutes into the episode and this was comfortably the best thing on it so far. They told a great, self-contained little story which made Athena look like a bad-ass whilst emphasising the talents that Adora possesses, and even played up the time-limits/Proving Ground stipulation in a meaningful way to make it seem like Athena's own hubris might end up taking the match to a draw and earning Trish a title shot. Lots has been written about how great Athena has been in 2023, and it's all true. She was an absolute superstar here, filling the room with a huge presence that made even a 'lesser match' for her like this utterly compelling television. She stalled early on; entertaining in itself but also a subtle nod to how dangerous her opponent actually was. She was then brilliant on offence in how she took down Adora's leg (I loved Trish's selling too). That built to the last minute where they found some incredibly interesting and innovative ways to incorporate a leg injury into a climactic stretch sequence. 

Athena attacks Adora after the match, but Kiera Hogan's music hits before she can use her title belt as a weapon. Hogan and Athena brawl, sending officials and security sprawling in the process. Kiera sets up a table in the corner...BUT ATHENA SPEARS HER THROUGH IT! 

The WorkHorsemen outlined earlier why they want this match. FTR interfered in their business a couple of weeks ago, so tonight they want to make FTR's friend Mark Briscoe pay. Mark's last two ROH matches have been singles wins over Shane Taylor and JD Drake, so he'd like to complete the set and earn a defeat over the full trio as he looks to push for a TV Title rematch with Samoa Joe.

Briscoe drives Henry to the floor early, brawls around ringside with him then looks to finish it off early with the Froggy Bow. That misses though, finally allowing Henry to establish himself in the match. He hits a tornado DDT and floats it right into a chickenwing, but too close to the ropes. A German suplex gets 2 for The WorkHorseman as well. Mark staves him off with some Redneck Kung Fu, then lands his fisherman buster for a nearfall of his own. Jay Driller blocked, with Anthony hitting an inverted suplex into a Dragon Clutch. Mark escapes and decks Henry with a lariat. Jay Driller wins it at 07:17

Rating - ** - Nothing special, but I thought the crowd were great for this and really enhanced this as a viewing experience. Mark pretty much played the hits, and across the ring from him Henry made for game opposition even though the result felt fairly predictable from the outset. I do kinda wish Mark would reserve the Jay Driller as his 'special occasion' finisher rather than for every match (albeit I completely understand why he's using it, and why he's protecting his body from the Froggy Bow as well).

Tony Khan pops up to remind everyone that he has appointed Stokely Hathaway and Jerry Lynn to his ROH Board Of Directors. They are here to introduce a special Road Rage Pure Rules match taped during the AEW Dynamite/Rampage stop-off in Colorado Springs. Stokely Hathaway proposes that next week Athena and Kiera Hogan settle their rivalry in a Chicago Street Fight...

7th June 2023 (Colorado Springs, CO) - Excalibur and Matt Menard (Garcia's JAS stable-mate) are on commentary for this one. Garcia held the Pure Title during his rivalry with Wheeler Yuta last year (part of the wider JAS/BCC rivalry) so is already familiar with the rules. It seems he has his sights set on getting that belt back, and tonight he faces NJPW Strong's DKC - a trainee/protege of current champion Katsuyori Shibata.

Garcia quickly takes DKC down and makes fun of him, clearly intent on sending a message to Shibata. The DKC retaliates with a flurry of strikes...so Red Death clocks him off the apron! Daddy Magic makes me laugh on commentary by enquiring about whether he can take the course to become a referee in the Pure division. Garcia continues to dominate DKC, trapping him in an STF in the middle of the ring. That forces DKC to use his first rope-break at the four-minute mark, and has Garcia dancing in delight. The DKC is selling his back after that, but launches his entire body into a cannonball senton then a second rope heel kick nonetheless. He unleashes a flurry of chops at the neck, and draws Garcia's first rope-break seconds later with a neck submission hold. Daniel hits back with the Walls Of Jericho, once again targeting DKC's back. Shibata's pupil escapes...so Garcia drills him with a Codebreaker. He pulls DKC's shoulder up then applies the Dragontamer, forcing DKC to tap-out at 07:27

Rating - ** - Pretty much a squash, but Garcia is awesome and Shibata/Garcia sounds really fun, so I thought this was actually a neat way to lay the groundwork for that title match. Having him belittle and crush one of Shibata's pupils adds some real spice.

The Embassy say they are getting bored with the lack of competition for their Six-Man Titles. Me too boys. They call their opposition tonight 'weak'. Cage is just excited to crush people and get his sh*t in...

Since failing to take the ROH Women's Title from Athena, Blue has spent a lot of her time being featured on AEW television and on their House Rules tours. But she is back tonight and looking for victory against an opponent making her first appearance in an ROH ring (after multiple AEW Dark/Elevation matches).

Caprice puts Viva over for holding multiple independent championships currently, and she looks composed early on as she grapples with Blue. Skye has to escape her clutches and quicken the pace to get ahead...but Van keeps pace with her and lands a spinning heel kick for 2. Flying headscissors by Blue, into the climbing knee strike in the ropes and a dropkick. Code Blue blocked into an ocean cyclone suplex by Viva! She indicates she wants to finish Blue off, only for Skye to hurricanrana her way free. Skye Fall blocked, but the Superkick isn't. Skye Fall wins it at 03:59

Rating - ** - Viva Van looked really good here, seizing every chance she had to shine whilst ultimately being there to put Blue over. This did feel very much an AEW Dark match (since most of Blue's current activity is AEW-based therefore this was wholly a squash to boost her for that), but it was a smart sub-four minute match.

This is the first time The Embassy have defended the titles since Supercard Of Honor, where they defeated the team of Blake Christian, Metalik and AR Fox. Fox is back with new team-mates tonight, with Martin and Andretti still flying after winning the climactic Fight Without Honor in their rivalry with The OGK. This feels like the stiffest test Cage, Kaun and Toa have faced in their six-month title reign...

Fox and Cage start; AR trying gamely but essentially bouncing off the sheer mass of The Machine at every turn. Kaun and Darius in next, and once again the power of The Embassy eclipses the speed and athleticism of their opponent. Andretti and Liona complete the set, and Toa ends up clubbing Action to the floor - where Kaun is waiting to bludgeon him against the ring apron. SPRINGBOARD DESTROYER from Andretti to Cage! Fox runs the ropes into a double springboard armdrag/headscissors combo to Toa and The Machine! ARABIAN PRESS BY ANDRETTI! SUICIDE DIVE BY FOX! Swanton Bomb gets 2 on Cage. The challengers gang up on Cage, repeatedly flying at him with strikes then hoisting him up for an ASSISTED ARKO for 2! Liona makes the save on that and flips Martin through the air with a shoulder tackle. Gutbuster from Kaun to Darius next, but when he tries to fight Andretti as well Action gives him a C-4 ON THE FLOOR! 450 SPLASH BY FOX! SPRINGBOARD 450 BY ANDRETTI! CAGE SAVES! F'n'5 blocked with superkicks. TKO FROM ANDRETTI TO CAGE! AIR RAID CRASH from Kaun to Action! Liona literally LAUNCHES Fox into the air with a Samoan drop! DISCUS LARIAT from Cage to Darius! WEAPON-X! Cage pins Andretti to retain at 10:19

Rating - *** - A little slow and one-dimensional in the first half, but the second half of this one was an absolute riot with bodies flying everywhere. I've knocked the lack of creative direction for The Embassy as Trios Champions, but in all fairness to them whenever they are given a half-way credible Trios Match they are normally really good value. Their PPV match with Fox, Christian and Metalik earlier in the year was incredibly under-rated, and arguably this one has an even better closing stretch than that one.

Tape Rating - ** - This isn't a terrible episode by any means, but I certainly don't think it justifies the Honor Club expense. I'm getting tired of repeating myself by saying this 'new ROH' has too many matches, too many squashes and not enough real substance - and that certainly remains the case here. But on the positive side, Athena/Adora and the main event are very solid bouts, and what little storylines there are here were all progressed well (Athena/Hogan, Mark Briscoe on the hunt for the TV Title, Garcia wanting the Pure Title, the Righteous/Dark Order angle). It's a perfectly average, somewhat enjoyable two hours of wrestling...but there are SO many better ways to spend two hours watching wrestling in 2023, and probably for a lot cheaper. At what point does 'well, it is better than Dark or Elevation' stop being an excuse for how disappointing this Ring Of Honor reboot has been over the last couple of months?