McXal's Reviews

I'm back after a long period of absence on ROH reviews. I won't dwell on the reasons why, since I don't enjoy being negative. To cut a long story short, the Khan-era Ring Of Honor just hadn't been fun, and hasn't appealed to me at all. I was getting bored with my reviews too, since every week basically became the same criticisms; namely that ROH had basically become a more expensive version of Dark, the ROH brand and championships little more than devalued props to promote AEW, minimal storylines, male champions barely featuring on the show and only ever defending their belts in AEW. But enough people have asked me to keep going (which is incredibly flattering) so I'm dipping back in where I left off in June of 2023. I'm going to try to keep my ROH TV reviews a little more succinct (if ROH/AEW management aren't going to give ROH TV much care an attention, why should I?) but lets get cracking. And we return in a potentially promising week, as the utterly phenomenal Athena is in the main event - defending her Women's Title in a Street Fight against Kiera Hogan. We've also got Pure Rules action featuring Daniel Garcia and Rocky Romero, The Infantry taking on The Kingdom, and a lucha dream team of Pentagon, Fenix, Komander and Vikingo in 8-man tag action too. Ian Riccaboni and Caprice Coleman call the action, taped in Chicago, IL (from this point to date of writing in April 2024 ROH haven't returned to Universal Orlando for more dedicated TV tapings and remained solely on the road with AEW unfortunately).

LAST SATURDAY - Tony Khan and the Board Of Directors present Samoa Joe with a new TV Title belt in recognition of his year of dominance with the championship (on the set of AEW Collision). We then get a brief clip of the heated interactions between ROH legends Joe and CM Punk during the inaugural episode of Collision. Don't be silly enough that Joe will actually wrestle a serious match on ROH's TV show however. You know, the one you're paying a monthly fee to watch...

14th June 2023 (Washington, DC) - We open the show with a match taped a week prior. ROH Tag Champions Fenix and Penta join forces with Vikingo and Komander to form a Lucha Libre dream team. The Butcher & The Blade would no doubt like to be considered for a Tag Title shot so know a victory is important. Their team also has countless characters at ringside with them; Penelope Ford, Angelico & Luther are all out there.

Vikingo and Serpentico start, and it's Serp who impresses early by monkey flipping the AAA Champion into the turnbuckles...then landing a thunderous powerbomb. Butcher and Komander in next...albeit only briefly because Butcher easily heaves him outside. Blade bounces Komander off the guardrails as well, leaving him vulnerable to an Arabian Press from Sabian. Kip, Butcher and Blade rapidly tag in and out whilst isolating Komander, with the Lucha Bros growing increasingly agitated on the apron. It looks like Komander blows an attempted slingshot headscissors spot as we get a prolonged close-up on Penta rather than the action...but when we come back Komander is planting Kip with a handspring DDT then making the hot tag to Pentagon (who steamrolls Butcher and Kip). Double springboard heel kick by Fenix, as luchadors start to fill the ring from all sides! Serpentico and Blade break a double stomp Fear Factor. DEATH STOMPER by Sabian for 2! QUADRUPLE SUPERKICKS by the luchadors! Triple rowboat submission by Fenix, Komander and Vikingo...as Penta hits a MEXICAN DESTROYER INTO THE MIDDLE OF THEM on Serpentico. SPRINGBOARD MOONSAULT TO THE FLOOR BY VIKINGO! SPRINGBOARD SUICIDE DIVE BY FENIX! FEAR FACTOR! Penta pins Serpentico at 07:17

Rating - *** - This goes exactly as you'd expect, albeit Serpentico and Sabian get more chances to shine that you might predict, and genuinely shine in the process. I don't think many are interested in a Lucha Bros vs Butcher/Blade Tag Title match, but ROH has a lot of vapid Dark-esque hours of TV to fill so it wouldn't be the worst idea. That would necessitate one of the major male championships actually being defended on ROH TV rather than a filler match on AEW though.

Ian introduces this match as a clash between two examples of why you shouldn't judge two pro-wrestlers based on how they look, which is very fair. Both men have impressed in their outings on Honor Club thus far, but both have struggled for wins. That will change for one of them tonight.

Mack lands an early slap to Loco, who decides to respond with multiple somersaults. They take turns cartwheeling out of headscissors attempts next, which gets big pops out of the filling Chicago crowd (ahead of the debut Collision). Willie starts peppering Gringo with strikes in the corner, followed by the imploding cannonball for 2. Samoan drop next, setting up the standing moonsault as Loco starts to look in serious trouble. Mack lifts his opponent onto the turnbuckles, only for Gringo to knock him back and deliver a SPRINGBOARD MOONSAULT. TOPE ATOMICO nailed as well! He goes upstairs for one more dive, but this time misses a Spiral Tap. Mack capitalises with the Sky High for 2. He delivers the running knee strike as well before going upstairs to set up the Frog Splash. Gringo intercepts him for a SPRINGBOARD SPANISH FLY! Loco wins at 07:44

Rating - ** - Gringo Loco winning was a nice moment, and reward for a series of impressive performances since making his way into ROH earlier in the year. This wasn't my favourite of his matches personally however. It had some spectacular moments, but also moments of real shoddiness. I don't mind spot-fest matches at all, but too much of this felt meandering and aimless given how little time they were actually in the ring for.

Much has been made of Adora going back to basics and training as a young lion with the NJPW Dojo, and the announce team highlight that she is growing in confidence each week. She has a real test in tenured veteran Allysin Kay (who gets the jobber intro without entrance) tonight.

AK comes out swinging, probably annoyed at being treated like a jobber here. She tries to bully and dominate Trish with strikes, but finds her an even match as Adora fires back with suplexes and submissions. Gradually Kay takes control using that bullying, dominating, strike-heavy approach - then gets a nearfall with a neckbreaker as she tries to set up for either the AK47 or the Big D. Growing in confidence, she starts pie-facing and taunting Adora...until Trish explodes with a GERMAN SUPLEX! Big D blocked, and Adora crunches Kay's lariat-throwing arm into the turnbuckles as well! Kay COUNTERS the Lariat Tubman into a German suplex of her own though! Trish flips out of a Piledriver attempt into the LARIAT TUBMAN! Adora wins at 04:48

Rating - *** - If you're looking for a match which tells a strong story, this was by a distance the best match on the show so far. It wasn't long, but the narrative was clear and well-executed from the outset. Kay was the world-travelled veteran, peeved at getting a jobber entrance and trying to impose her will on Adora. But after the announce team pushed Adora's growth as a wrestler thanks to her studies at the New Japan Dojo, we saw Trish survive everything AK threw at her and win out the battle of the lariat finishers to secure victory. 

The Last Real Man was a central figure in the Sinclair Era of ROH, but has lurked around the periphery since Tony Khan took over. That could all change if he were able to defeat the incredibly impressive NJPW/AEW/ROH United Empire stand-out, Aussie Open's Kyle Fletcher. He is still working singles matches since Mark Davis is out injured.

Silas shows his experience and tries to take Fletcher straight down to the canvas, then tricks him into running the ropes solely so he can deliver a mean-spirited boot to the stomach. Mafia kick by Kyle to knock the Last Real Man off the apron though, and he follows with an ultra-athletic pescado. Silas goes straight back into the ring and slows it right back down by choking him in the corner though. Fletcher starts rattling off suplexes though, and almost finishes things with a sharp brainbuster as we approach five minutes. Grimstone Piledriver blocked into Silas's signature springboard apron clothesline though. Killer Combo gets 2. Fletcher dodges The Plunge though and levels Young with a superkick. Hammerlock inverted DDT wins it for Fletcher at 06:07

Rating - ** - Fletcher is a hot talent, featured across ROH, AEW and New Japan, so it felt inevitable that he would be victorious. It is still sad to see ROH stalwarts like Silas reduced to enhancement talent status in matches like this, but he still brought a certain reverence and quality to his roll as the smart, savvy veteran trying to outsmart someone who was just too young, powerful and strong for him on this night.

The ROH Six-Man Titles aren't on the line here, and one would suspect that it will be the usual battle to survive for the debuting enhancement talents this evening. Can anyone stop the dominant reign of Cage, Kaun and Toa?

Liona absolutely batters through the opposition literally as the bell rings, willingly fighting all three of them at once. Brian Cage demands a tag and almost breaks Storm in half with a German suplex. Kaun and AJZ in next...and AJZ is actually able to hold his own when it comes to striking with The Embassy member. RUNNING ELBOW ON THE FLOOR by Kaun though! Cage Powerbombs Trenton, whilst Kaun hits the turnuckle backbreaker on AJZ. The Embassy hit a trio of finishers (including Kaun hitting the Greetings From Ghana) and win the match. My stream kept freezing, Cagematch has the time at 04:48

Rating - * - I wanted to go lower on my rating since thoroughly bored of watching the same Embassy squash over and over again without ever getting any sense of tangible progress. But I did like some of the little things Bishop Kaun brought to the table here, and the Jimmy Rave reference at the end meant I didn't drop to a DUD rating here.

These two extremely accomplished athletes go back to the previous era of ROH together. Woods is a former Pure Champion, Castle a former TV Champion. Both will be seeking championship opportunities again, and will know how critical a victory over a familiar old foe is tonight. Woods has Tony Nese and Mark Sterling in his corner, whilst Dalton has The Boys with him.

Riccaboni and Coleman do a good job talking about previous encounters between these two in ROH. Woods gets the advantage by backing Castle into the ropes then yanking him and throat-first into the middle rope rather than offer a clean break. Dalton needs some time clowning around with The Boys to recover from that...and he comes back strong by delivering a DDT to the former Pure Champion. Josh tries to shut that down with a superplex, only to be hung over the turnbuckles and drilled with a running knee by Castle. Smart Mark and The Boys come into contact for the first time, and when Nese distracts Dalton as well he is completely unsighted as Woods sneaks up behind him and smears him into the guardrails. He starts targeting Castle's injured back; landing a kick, a backbreaker then a German suplex for 2. Dalton is hurting now, landing a neckbreaker drop and a couple of suplexes but favouring his back noticeably now. EVEREST GERMAN gets 2 - perhaps because he can't hold a bridge and instead has to float into a standard pin. Woods escapes Bang-A-Rang with the assistance of Mark Sterling and plants Dalton right into his back with a Doctor Bomb for 2. Tony Nese hops onto the apron too, but is booted to the floor by Castle, setting up the tired Boy-toss repeated tope suicida spot. BANG-A-RANG on Woods, giving Dalton a victory at 09:30

Rating - *** - I liked the wrestling in here enough to compensate for some of the more tired elements of both acts. There is nothing innovative, fresh or exciting about how Nese, Woods and Sterling constantly interfere in each other's matches. It never goes anywhere, it's just cheap filler from lower card guys who aren't getting higher in the card any time soon. Same for Castle, who is back doing the same stuff with The Boys from years prior, except this time his back makes him way more limited as a worker as well. This was at its best when they stripped the bullsh*t away and concentrated on Woods being a badass grappler tearing into Castle's injured back, with Dalton selling it excellently.

LAST WEEK - Board Member Stokely Hathaway is approached by The Kingdom, demanding to know why they still haven't got a Tag Title rematch. They also suggest that The Infantry have been bad-mouthing him behind his back. Later Stoke confronts The Infantry, who say it was Taven and Bennett trashing him. They ask Hathaway for a match with The OGK - which he grants for tonight.

The issues between these two teams stretch all the way back to the first episode of ROH on Honor Club when we saw Bennett and Taven defeat Shawn Dean and Carlie Bravo. Now both want in on the Tag Title picture, and The Infantry are looking to make their name on the back of the multi-time title holders in Ring Of Honor.

Bennett tries to jump Dean before the bell, but is blitzed by a flurry of double-team combo moves by The Infantry. Slingshot cutter from the apron by Bravo gets 2 on Taven as well. Enzi/superkick combo by The Kingdom though, handing them the advantage for the first time. Spinebuster/moonsault combo gets a nearfall too, with Bravo now desperate for a tag to his partner. Finally Carlie does hurl himself across the ring into the hot tag to The Captain (who wipes out both members of The OGK with a crossbody). Tiger Driver on Bennett gets 2. Kick Of The King by Matt, as Bravo makes an ill-advised tag back in. Modified Rock Star Supernova (Taven's finish with his new Kingdom from years before) gets 2 as well, before Bravo hits an Axe Kick. Saluting Splash by Dean 2! Climax blocked, bodies fly everywhere until Bennett and Shawn collide in the middle of the ring. Maria distracts the referee allowing Taven to feet a chair to Mike - which he uses to ram into Dean's ribs. But Trish Adora is out! She chases Maria away, distracting The Kingdom as they set up the Hail Mary. Dean rolls up Bennett for a shock win at 07:22

Rating - *** - A slightly generous rating, but I can't bemoan the lack of story-telling on ROH TV then not recognise when an actual story with genuine development comes along. The Infantry have been progressively getting closer to The Kingdom since being squashed in Episode 1. Tonight they were more competitive than ever, but looked to be on the brink of another defeat thanks to some strategic interference from Maria Kanellis-Bennett. But there was a twist to the tale tonight - with The Infantry having recruited Adora to their ranks. As another military veteran her presence with them makes sense, and she deserves a slot on TV having ALWAYS impressed with the quality of her wrestling in this company.

It has taken a long time, but Big Bill (W. Morrissey in Impact, Big Cass in WWE) at last gets to make an in-ring ROH debut following his controversial appearance back at G1 Supercard in 2019. He and Moriarty have been building momentum across AEW programming which they now look to bring into ROH against the makeshift duo of Christian and former Tag Champion Sydal.

Sydal and Moriarty to start, and it's all fun stuff blending speed, agility and athleticism (whilst the announcers bang on about Forbidden Door). STANDING corkscrew senton by Sydal gets 2! He tags Christian in, and his fast-paced exchanges with Lee are just as thrilling. A basement 619 lands, as does a handspring enzi kick. Lee has seen enough, tagging Bill in for the first time. He towers over both opponents and needs no invitation to put his huge boots through their faces. He then vacates the ring having been the difference maker, leaving his partner to unleash a barrage of strikes on Sydal in the corner. Big B misses a body avalanche in the corner, and when Moriarty tries to intercept the hot tag Blake BACK FLIPS off the apron to avoid him! Hot tag to Christian, who spears Lee off the apron then hits a Heat Seeking Missile to wipe out Bill. RUNNING MOONSAULT TO THE FLOOR! SPRINGBOARD 450 SPLASH gets 2! Bill makes the save, blind tags his way in then eviscerates Blake with the EAST RIVER CROSSING! Sydal saves with a rana that knocks Lee to the floor...only for Blake to MISS a somersault plancha and get CHOKESLAMMED ON THE APRON! Big Bill isn't finished, hitting a suplex variant of the East River Crossing to win at 10:00

Rating - *** - I had far more fun watching this one than I'd expected. Moriarty is so talented and putting him in the ring with comparable talents like Christian or Sydal was always going to be fun. They were selective and clever with how Bill was used, maximising his impact at every turn. The match always felt like it was picking up speed and momentum, climaxing at just the right time too. 

In the back The Kingdom are livid at the actions of The Infantry and Trish Adora. They place the blame very much at the feet of Stokely Hathaway, and plan to escalate their grievances to fellow Board Member Jerry Lynn. Maria chimes in to remind everyone that she is the one who even gave Trish an opportunity in ROH in the first place - and will make her pay for her actions.

Dark Order are here, still very much engulfed in their rivalry with The Righteous. They will want to put that on hold with a win over some local enhancement talents this evening. Negative One accompanies them to the ring tonight.

Silver tosses Bang high into the air with a biel, with Reynolds waiting to follow up with a powerbomb for 2. Alex then absolutely batters Matthews with forearms before he can get any kind of foothold in the match. Silver wipes Davey out against the guardrails, as in the ring Matthews is finished off with an uppercut/German suplex combo. Dark Order win at 02:26

Rating - N/A - It was kept short, Dark Order keep rolling as we continue to build towards their inevitable showdown with The Righteous and Stu Grayson.

The Righteous appear on the Cary-tron to congratulate Dark Order on their victory. Vincent tells them he wants to see even more aggression from them next week...and they oblige by putting even more of a beating on Bang and Matthews. Are The Righteous under their skin?

Lexy Nair interviews Diamante, but is quickly interrupted by 'Smart' Mark Sterling. He tries to convince Diamante to agree to forfeit her match with Leila Grey, which she does not take well.

Coming into this on the back of a three-match winning streak, Diamante is full of confidence and keen to get into contention for Athena's championship. But does she have enough to overcome not just Leila (in her ROH debut), but also any other characters that Mark Sterling might have lined up to block her path here?

Diamante teases laying down and accepting Smart Mark's offer of a forfeit...but of course it's a joke and she quickly boots the unsuspecting Leila in the head. Grey tries to leave the ring, and from there blocks a punt by tripping her opponent face-first onto the apron. Hip attack/facebuster upon returning the ring, scoring a nearfall for The Baddie. Diamante retaliates with a German suplex then a big hesitation dropkick in the corner. Mark Sterling pops up on the apron creating a distraction. Diamante stamps on his hand - but turns her back on Leila who swoops to roll her up using the ropes. Grey wins at 04:02

Rating - DUD - There was nothing substantive to the match at all, the finish was bogus and it felt like a character occasionally featured in a storyline on AEW programming (Leila and The Baddies) getting parachuted into ROH TV and immediately getting prioritised over someone who has been getting a push in ROH. Diamante has looked like quite a badass over the last few weeks...but was made to look something of a fool with this one. I understand they're doing a rematch next week and are 'heating up' Diamante before they put her in the title picture, but this wouldn't have been the way I'd have gone about it.

This is framed as a fight between two teams who want to get into the hunt for the ROH Six-Man Titles, as if that is a title that you need to work to earn a shot at. The winners here become clear contenders to The Embassy without question. Taylor and The WorkHorsemen's alliance continues to grow stronger as they now have similar gear together.

Fox and Taylor start, as either side of them The WorkHorsemen deck Andretti and Darius with cheap-shots. The action is fast-paced from the outset; Drake blasting Martin with a strike after Darius guillotines Henry over the bottom rope. KICKFLIP DIVE from Fox to Drake! STANDING C4 from Andretti to Henry, followed by an Arabian Press to the floor. HANDSPRING ELBOW/GERMAN COMBO on Drake! But Shane T kills all their momentum dead with a knockout punch to Action. DOUBLE STOMP GARVEY DRIVER on Fox...but Darius breaks the pin. He wipes out Taylor and Drake with a Heat Seeking Missile, as inside the ring AR catches Henry in a small package to win the match at 04:19

Rating - ** - Four rushed minutes is not enough time for a talented bunch like this. They amused themselves and basically went for constant spots from the very first bell. It meant there is almost no substance to this, but does have undeniable entertainment value as they sprint around dropping bombs on each other.

Diamante finds Leila Grey and Smart Mark backstage and demands a rematch for next week.

Garcia is very much in the hunt for Shibata and the Pure Title. They have crossed paths on AEW, and he now pits himself in Pure Rules against another NJPW Dojo trainer and contemporary of Shibata in the form of Rocky Romero. 

Daniel makes an early statement by riding Rocky on the mat and playfully slapping the back of his head. Of course Romero doesn't like that and does the same thing right back. Garcia aggressively locks up with him, with such force that he basically backs the veteran into the ropes forcing him to use a rope-break. But Rocky hits back immediately by trapping him in a cross armbreaker and forcing Daniel to take his first break too. Tope suicida by the veteran when Garcia tries to leave the ring. RUNNING SHIRANUI nailed! Garcia hides behind referee Mike Posey to block the Forever Clotheslines, then dumps Romero with a butterfly suplex into the turnbuckles. Octopus Stretch from Romero though, forcing Garcia to take his second rope-break at the four minute mark. He goes for a rana after that, but Garcia catches him and drops into an STF - inevitably taking Rocky's second rope-break from him. Garcia is taunted by the crowd for being a wrestler, so of course he breaks out the silly 'sports entertainment' dances which allow Romero plenty of time to recover...and hit a jumping knee. SUPER RANA by Rocky, leaving them both down. The veteran is up first and hits the hanging double stomp for 2 - with Daniel using his final rope-break to kick out. Knowing his opponent is out of rope-breaks, Rocky immediately goes for submissions, but is so aggressive with it that he gets trapped in the Walls Of Jericho! Garcia favours his arm during it, but still Romero needs his last rope-break to escape. Shibata Sleeper by Garcia! Romero blocks the PK though and lands a springboard DDT. Falcon arrow into the cross armbreaker on the bad arm! Garcia gets to the ropes and uses them to counter to a one-arm Sharpshooter! In the ropes! Rocky taps at 11:15

Rating - ** - The second half of this was good, the first half a little aimless. They absolutely would have had a better match without the Pure Rules stipulation in my opinion. I've found myself thinking that about Pure Rules matches under AEW's ownership quite regularly. Bringing the Pure Title back during the pandemic and empty set wrestling era made a lot of sense when Sinclair does it - but stylistically it doesn't remotely sit comfortably with how Tony Khan books either AEW or ROH. 

Garcia tries to send a message to Shibata by continuing to beat on Romero, but is stopped by Orange Cassidy.

The Fallen Goddess has already successfully defended the title against Hogan once, back on Honor Club Episode 12. But it was closely contested and Kiera still felt she has what it takes to dethrone Athena so has continued to chase her in the weeks since. The rivalry has gotten so intense that the Board Of Directors were left with no choice but to sanction this Street Fight. 

Hogan tries to take the fight right to the champion...but is planted into the canvas with a swinging front slam. Athena tries to bring a ladder into the ring in less than a minute, but instead gets it baseball slid into her sternum by Hogan. HEADSCISSORS OFF THE APRON by Kiera, sending Athena face-first into another ladder! The Fallen Goddess shoves her back and opens up a table against the guardrail, but in doing so doesn't see Hogan filling the ring with plunder. Nevertheless she profits from it, grabbing a trash can lid and bashing it into the midsection of the challenger. Next she deposits Kiera in the trash can itself, before starting to rattle it with repeated kendo stick shots. She tries the handspring elbow but it is BLOCKED by Hogan launching the trash can right into Athena's face! FISHERMAN NECKBREAKER ON THE TRASH CAN! That incapacitates the champion momentarily, and Hogan uses that time to bridge a ladder between the ring and another ladder. She drapes Athena over the ladder bridge but then MISSES a splash from the second rope, causing her to eat ladder hard. She crumples selling her ribs, whilst Athena sets up another table at ringside, then a double-stack pile of open chairs. In the end she takes so long with that - for no reason whatsoever - that Hogan has all the time she needs to recover, then launch the champ through the first table Athena set up earlier. KENDO STICK DUEL! Athena screams in fury and essentially smashes her stick over the torso of the challenger...but then stops fighting her to keep adding chairs to that massive chair stack. Once again she is punished - with Hogan jumping her from behind then dumping her on the other table she'd set up. Splash off the steps...but the table doesn't break! The crowd think about starting to boo that (even though it looked really painful)...so Kiera climbs higher for a SECOND ROPE SPLASH THROUGH THE TABLE! Hogan has the champ down and out...so of course she now stops and spends an eternity setting something up; this time a table inside the ring. Athena gets all the time she needs to recover, and they end up fighting on the top rope perilously perched above the table. AWESOMEBOMB THROUGH THE TABLE BY ATHENA! Hogan kicks out at 2! Athena is furious that Kiera kicked out of that, so wedges a trash can in the corner then digs under the ring for a back of thumb tacks. Superkick by Hogan! She rams Athena into the trash can then hits a BACK SUPLEX INTO THE TACKS! Athena kicks out! Hogan uses her long braids to try and choke Athena out! That's a pretty awesome visual as she starts using her own hair to hang Athena. So Athena rips tacks out of her arm and gouges Hogan's eyes! The champ grabs her... FOR A BRAINBUSTER THROUGH THE CHAIR STACK ON THE FLOOR! Hogan is dead, Athena retains at 19:24

Rating - *** - All credit and respect to these women for putting their bodies through a real war here, and credit too to Tony Khan for finding them twenty minutes (even at the taping of the debut Collision) to contest this match. It absolutely FELT like a special event match for the Honor Club TV series as a result. I don't think it was a particularly special weapons-based brawl though. I never really felt much heat or hatred between them, and the amount of time they wasted almost ignoring each other to set up big spots involving chairs or tables (most of which didn't look particularly great) was pretty infuriating. And the biggest irony was I don't think they needed those more elaborate set pieces. Athena is such a magnetic performer, and this was at its best when they ditched the theatrics and just beat each other up in these raw, brutal moments like the kendo stick duel or throwing each other into tacks. It didn't need three tables, a random stack of chairs, a ladder in the first minute etc. 

Before the show closes, Lexy Nair catches up with Athena backstage. The champ bemoans the lack of respect for her continued dominance as ROH Champion, threatens Lexy then leaves with a warning to the entire women's locker room to 'step up or step out'.

Tape Rating - *** - One of my biggest criticisms of ROH on Honor Club is that I don't think it has delivered value for money on the Honor Club subscription cost. 2-3 hours of Dark-style matches every week just don't work for me. To credit this episode though, I do think this was a step above that level. Plenty of solid matches, a few stories being advanced and a twenty minute EVENT-match at the top of the show to cap things off. Even if my personal preference would be running ROH as a split, NXT-style roster separately from AEW's touring schedule, and for their TV product to concentrate more on 5-8 longer form matches (instead of the THIRTEEN) we got here, I won't pretend that this wasn't a decent show.