McXal's Reviews

We are taped at Collision, during AEW/NJPW's Forbidden Door pay-per-view weekend. With Tony Khan's focus so obviously elsewhere and with him continuing to refuse to relinquish creative control of ROH to someone with more time, I'm not expecting huge things from this episode. ROH do benefit from the stars of New Japan being in town though, as this show a pile of NJPW talents with representatives of United Empire, LIJ and more all on the card. We are even graced with a rare in-ring appearance from ROH World Champion Claudio Castagnoli himself. Ian Riccaboni and Caprice Coleman call the action, taped in Toronto, ONT.

Tony Khan and Stokely Hathaway are with Lexy Nair to open the show. TK promotes the stars of NJPW on the show but says he'll be busy running things backstage so trusts Stoke to handle things for him.

We kick the show off with squash match duty for La Faccion Ingobernable. Vance and Dralistico have generally looked pretty decent during their brief showings on ROH TV, albeit they've been given absolutely nothing to do (which isn't much different from AEW to be fair).

LFI ambush their opponents during the Code Of Honor handshakes, ensuring they are on top from the opening bell. Dralistico punishes Wheeler with kick after kick, and it's only the interference of Prashar that keeps the match alive. Springboard Codebreaker on him, then Dralistico hits a ripcord Incinerator on Mark. LFI stack their opponents and pin both of them to win at 02:16

Rating - N/A - No issues with this as a squash. If you want ROH to feel like a premium product, opening the episode with something like this making it feel like an episode of early-90's WWF Superstars isn't how I'd do it though.

This should have opened the show. The Righteous continue to toy with the Dark Order, last week taunting them from the video screen and suggesting that Reynolds and Silver need to get even more aggressive. That saw the usually playful Dark Order start roughing up jobbers, and now they confront their arch rivals again this week. Stu Grayson is in the corner of The Righteous against his former friends, whilst his former tag partner Evil Uno is in the Dark Order corner.

Dark Order were told to be aggressive, and they do just that by declining the Code Of Honor and instead jumping The Righteous to get the match started. Stu distracts Silver when he tries to suplex Vincent on the floor, and immediately gets into an argument with Uno. Evil Uno is passed a chair BY Vincent, causing Rick Knox to eject him from ringside. BOSSMAN SLAM from Dutch to Silver for 2! Interestingly, Riccaboni is still pushing that Bateman is part of The Righteous. SILVER HITS A VERTICAL SUPLEX ON DUTCH! That looked wild! Hot tag to Reynolds who is the embodiment of aggression as he flies in throwing punches and blasting his opponents all round the ring until Marseglia rolls away for some respite. Alex continues to pursue him, smashing him into the guardrails then bouncing Dutch's head off the ringpost. TORNADO DDT OFF THE APRON! DOUBLE STOMP TO THE FLOOR BY SILVER! PILEDRIVER/BRAINBUSTER COMBO! Dark Order have the match won, but Reynolds continues to scream in Vincent's face rather than pin him. He doesn't see Dutch toss Silver into the steps, he doesn't see Vinny distract the official...and he also doesn't see Grayson slide into the ring to decimate him with an axe kick! Vincent pins Reynolds to win at 05:31

Rating - *** - This Dark Order/Righteous feud is probably the longest-running 'feud' going on in ROH right now, and it continues to provide interesting content every time they dedicate a segment to it. This was possibly my favourite match so far. I loved the aggression shown by Reynolds and Silver. It made their work way more interesting than the usual goofy stuff they do these days, and it completely makes sense given that they'd been taunted into doing so by The Righteous. Vincent's tricks to get Uno ejected, then set Grayson up for the assist in victory were smartly played out as well. This was good stuff - and I really hope they stick the landing whenever they do end the feud.

The Righteous keep beating on Dark Order after the match, until Evil Uno comes back out with a chair. Grayson stands between Uno and Vincent and DARES his former partner to use the weapon on him...but Uno can't do it! 

Last week Mark Sterling tried to buy Diamante off, then cheated to hand Grey victory over her. Unsurprisingly Diamante was furious and has demanded an immediate rematch.

Leila sensibly tries to headlock the pumped up Diamante, dragging her to the ground where she can't brawl and fight. That doesn't last forever, and soon enough Diamante is able to haul the fight outside where she can drive Grey into the steel steps. But Smart Mark lurks on the outside as well, distracting her and allowing Grey to tackle her off the apron. Back in the ring she goes back to the strategy of keeping Diamante on the mat, but again can't maintain it. Chaos Theory by Diamante, only for Leila to roll to the apron and hang her in the ropes. Another German suplex by Diamante though, followed by a basement dropkick in the corner. Smart Mark puts Grey's foot on the ropes there, and she wasn't kicking out without that assist! 

Rating - * - I suppose this was more satisfying than last week, but I still wouldn't say I was particularly enamoured with this one. There were still moments where Diamante was made to look like a bit of a plum, the wrestling wasn't particularly interesting, and nothing about Mark Sterling's act (which doesn't change much, regardless of which of the 200 wrestlers he manages is in the ring) felt like it was positively contributing here either.

Lexy Nair and Claudio Castagnoli both look completely confused at the sight of the ROH World Champion actually being on the ROH TV show. His promo feels somewhat phoned in as well. Eventually Chuck Taylor shows up and challenges him to a Proving Ground match.

21st June 2023 (Chicago, IL) - This was taped last week in Chicago and marks the second appearance of the Lucha Libre dream team featuring ROH Tag Champions Penta & Rey Fenix, AAA Mega Champion Vikingo and his perennial friend/rival Komander. Gringo Loco is no stranger to Vikingo, and he has some hard-hitting back-up tonight.

Gringo (in some outrageous gear) starts with Pentagon in front of a hot, split crowd in Chicago. The crowd is so into them they kill a full 90 seconds without even touching each other. After that bodies start flying from all angles, including Taylor absolutely KILLING Vikingo with a knockout punch. PENTAGON DRIVER on Loco gets 2! Gringo blocks the double stomp Fear Factor from the Lucha Bros and unleashes Shane T again, this time almost breaking Fenix's jaw with a headbutt. He tries to hit the Garvey Driver on Fenix (whilst taunting Penta, who also uses that move), but Rey escapes and tags Komander...who runs into a clubbing lariat from the former ROH TV Champion. DOUBLE JUMP MOONSAULT by Loco for 2. Pele Kick from Komander to Drake, allowing Vikingo to tag in legally for the first time. He STANDS ON GRINGO'S SHOULDERS before hitting a headscissors on him! DOUBLE SUPERKICK from the Lucha Bros to Drake, into the imploding wheelbarrow splash double team for 2. JD blocks the Fear Factor though, and they collide mid-ring to leave them both down. Henry and Fenix trade strikes, before Henry hits a 2k1 Bomb for 2. Vikingo starts tossing opponents, then stands on the ringpost to hit a MOONSAULT TO THE FLOOR! WHILST KOMANDER WALKS THE ROPES INTO A FLYING HEADSCISSORS UP THE AISLE! DOUBLE STOMP FEAR FACTOR ON HENRY! Penta pins Henry to win at 09:01

Rating - **** - This was awesome. Nine minutes is no time at all, but what I really liked was how they squeezed the juice and maximised every last second, even with the first 90 seconds involving no physical contact at all. We started with Penta and Loco revving the crowd like race cars on a starting line, and once the green lights arrived it was frantic, non-stop action playing to the strengths of each man. The Lucha Bros brought awesome combo moves. Vikingo and Gringo showcased their fun chemistry in the ring together. Shane Taylor had a few choice moments to look like an absolute killer (the guy is a star). It culminated in a complete riot of spots going all over the ring and around ringside then the ROH Tag Champions getting a big win. It would be a lie to suggest this does anything long-term to create challengers for the Tag Titles (they are basically a prop) but I thought this was a great little spot-fest.

Samoa Joe is backstage to cut a promo about his AEW match with Roderick Strong, which takes place on AEW television. Stokely Hathaway shows poor judgement by interrupting him, and is intimidated by the ROH TV Champ.

Last week the Moriarty/Bill duo made their ROH debut with an impressive victory over Blake Christian and Matt Sydal. They are looking to go 2-0 in Ring Of Honor tonight.

Bill starts and completely no-sells Karou's offence, even though the debutant is hardly a small man himself. East River Crossing flattens Tariq, but they pause to tag Moriarty in before the pin which perhaps is the reason Tariq is able to kick out. Tariq gets a couple of strikes in on Lee, but before long Big B is in and squashing Karou once more. Border City Stretch by Moriarty, tapping Tariq out at 03:20

Rating - DUD - I'm not sure why Tariq and Karou were given any offence here. If you need to put Moriarty and Bill you could have shaved a good minute from this and done it far more quickly.

Los Ingobernables de Japon make a return to ROH programming, and challenge the dominant Embassy for the ROH Trios Title. If you exclude his appearance in the G1 Supercard Battle Royal (and the NJPW Honor Rising shows) then this is former ROH Tag and IWGP Heavyweight Champion Shingo's first ROH match since his 2008 appearances during the golden Sapolsky/Silkin era.  

Shingo and Cage start (man just book these two in a singles match), trading a few shoulder tackles in front of an appreciative crowd before breaking off. All three of the challengers join forces to take The Machine down, and even then his kick-out from the ensuiing pin launches Hiromu through the air. Gates Of Agony rush the ring to help their partner, and Cage lands the dead-lift superplex on Takahashi. Liona hits the apron senton soon after for a nearfall. Takahashi counters an attempted front slam from Toa into a swinging DDT and makes a big tag to Shingo. Flatliner/DDT combo on Kaun and Cage! Kaun retaliates with a lungblower then tries to set up Greetings From Ghana...which Takagi blocks into a DDT. LIJ try to isolate Kaun, but he swats Bushi aside and levels him with a lariat. Cage scoops Shingo up for a front slam, and when Hiromu jumps onto him as well, he CATCHES THEM BOTH into a powerbomb/front slam combo. Bushi gives Cage the Black Mist to take him out of the match...but is left on his own to fight the Gates Of Agony. They hit Open The Gates to retain at 07:45

Rating - ** - This felt like a terrible waste of LIJ, and particularly of Shingo's first ROH appearance in so long (his excursion to ROH means he remains an incredibly popular performer with long-time ROH fans of a certain vintage). I like bringing them in to put The Embassy over, but at least give them enough time to have a meaningful match. Pointless little filler matches like this are the reason these belts are so completely devalued to the point that nobody cares about them at all. The action was fine, if completely forgettable - with intriguing interactions between Cage and Shingo all too fleeting and brief. Both teams ran through an autopilot selection their usual material, then got out with minimal fuss.

Kyle Fletcher is excited because he gets to bring his United Empire colleagues Jeff Cobb and TJP back to ROH tonight. They are going to prove that they 'run the world' regardless of company tonight.

It is interesting to note that despite the long-standing relationship between ROH and New Japan, this is the first time that Desperado has made it to Ring Of Honor. He'll be looking to mark the occasion with a victory.

The crowd chants 'this is awesome' before the bell rings. Genuinely not sure if they are easily impressed, or far more into the modern-day products of ROH and NJPW than I am. They continue to pop as Mack effortlessly leapfrogs Desperado and levels him with a heel kick for 2. He then caves in the chest with an overhand chop (the announcers have barely mentioned Willie and are mostly droning on about Jon Moxley and Desperado). Willie is very over in Toronto, and a large portion of the audience groans as El D dropkicks his leg from under him then starts working it in the ropes. A deathlock is applied next as Desperado continues to work the legs. Mack throws some elbows, but a single kick to the leg causes him to crumple again, such is the effectiveness of Despy's strategy. POP-UP ELBOW BY MACK! He collapses again, but landed that with such force that Desperado is left flat on his ass in the corner. IMPLODING CANNONBALL gets 2! Willie thinks about the Frog Splash, but takes too long to climb the ropes and winds up crashing KNEE-FIRST into the canvas! Mack blocks the Pinche Loco with another big elbow, but doesn't have enough in his legs to lift him for a brainbuster. Instead he boots Desperado in the face as the masked man sets up Pinche Loco for a second time. Desperado backslides Mack into the PINCHE LOCO! Despy wins at a Cagematch time of 09:04 (quality on my stream was so choppy I only saw around seven minutes of it)

Rating - *** - This was very solid. I wish Tony would cut out all the Dark-esque filler on ROH TV and just concentrate on a smaller quantity of matches like this going anything from 12-20 minutes. It felt like they had lots in the tank and the nine minutes they were given just wasn't enough. Mack was really over and looked incredibly motivated as a result, and Desperado did a hell of a job bumping around and making Mack look like a huge threat even in defeat. Willie's selling on the leg was believable and sympathetic too. I definitely wasn't ready for this one to end when it did.

Of course this is significant as it brings the issue between Rocky Romero and his former protege/student SHO to American soil/Ring Of Honor. SHO now teams with the dastardly Yujiro Takahashi, whilst Romero brings his long-time friend and tag partner Trent Beretta to the party.

HOT sneak-attack Trent and Rocky rather than follow the Code Of Honor. RPG Vice retaliate with a PK/standing moonsault combo on Takahashi. Beretta clears the ring then cleans out Takahashi with a pescado...only for Sho to jump him from behind. He drives Romero into the guardrails too, leaving his team free to isolate Trent. Neither Ian or Caprice mention Sho's history in ROH as the Tempura Boyz when saying how they always tipped him for greatness, and he is left one-on-one with Rocky for the first time after Beretta manages to drop Yujiro with a tornado DDT. The Forever Clotheslines come out, then a double stomp/Gobstopper knee strike land for 2. Yujiro shoves Romero off the ropes when they set up Strong Zero...but Beretta drills Sho with a half nelson suplex. Powerbreaker by Sho gets 2. AVALANCHE FISHERMAN BUSTER by Takahashi...but Romero breaks the pin. Sho hides behind the ref's back then blasts Rocky with a knee strike. Tope suicida by Rocky in response! STRONG ZERO on Takahashi! RPG Vice win at 08:54

Rating - ** - The second half of this really picked up. It had been a little one-dimensional and predictable early on, but in the later stages SHO's quality in trading bombs with both Romero and Trent made things far more entertaining.

House Of Torture try to put a beatdown on RPG Vice, but are chased off by Trent's friend Orange Cassidy

Chris Daniels and TJ Perkins are two guys with frankly ludicrous amounts of experience. TJP is now part of the United Empire and teams with Khan-era ROH regular Fletcher and former ROH TV Champion Jeff Cobb tonight. Daniels has Andretti and Martin in his corner; guys who have formed a makeshift team in the absence of Darius' injured brother Dante.

Perkins and Andretti start us off with a really enjoyable exchange of holds on the mat. Action is joined by Martin soon after and they unleash a flurry of combo moves on Fletcher to get ahead. Daniels enters the fray and showcases his veteran skills to the detriment of first Kyle, then TJ. In the end Cobb DRAGS him off the apron then smashes him NECK-FIRST into the ringpost! The Hawaiian juggernaut tags in legally and nails the standing moonsault for good measure. Darius hits a tornado DDT on Fletcher, then a slingshot flatliner on Cobb! Capture back suplex from TJP, who then gets caught with a big falcon arrow from Action. ATHLETIC-PLEX by Cobb! MAMBA SPLASH by Perkins! Daniels and Darius save their partner, and the former World Champion feeds TJP into Martin and Andretti to hit a double spinebuster for the win. Again the quality of my stream was awful, so Cagematch time here - which is 08:13

Rating - ** - This match had a lot of individual components which I liked. Any time Andretti and TJP were together they produced some really enjoyable stuff. Everything Cobb did was fantastic. Perkins continues to be outrageously ageless as a wrestler too. But as a complete package this was a pretty average trios match, which was so short and rushed they really couldn't have done much more with it. The most interesting thing about this was having Martin and Andretti beat one-half of the IWGP Jr. Tag Champs to win; a nice moment which somewhat re-establishes their momentum which had been lost a little.

The Kingdom have requested some time with Board Member Jerry Lynn. Taven tries to 'relate' to Jerry by talking about how much he loved ECW and pointing out how they are both former ROH World Champions. He tries to stoke dissension between Jerry and Stokely Hathaway, whilst Bennett reminds Lynn that he 'retired' him in his final ROH match back in 2012. Unsurprisingly, Jerry reacts badly and books them & Maria into a trios match with The Infantry and Trish Adora next week...

This is a Women's World Title Proving Ground Match, and an ROH debut for Spinelli, who I've not watched wrestle since her SHIMMER days. She is an experienced professional, and will be well-aware of the hot-streak the Fallen Goddess has been on in Ring Of Honor.

Spinelli grabs a headlock and drops Athena right to the ground, but can't keep her there and soon eats a slingshot splash from the champ. Athena thinks she already has the match won and takes the time to wind the audience up...allowing KC to recover and hit a Samoan drop. AGGRESSIVE forearm strikes from the Fallen Goddess, followed by a knock-out elbow strike to win the match at 02:40

Rating - N/A - A decisive squash to keep Athena rolling. Even Spinelli's brief moments of offence were brushed off with ease, and the champion continues to dominate as we move towards Death Before Dishonor.

To put an exclamation point on the win, Athena knees Spinelli's skull into the ring steps before leaving.

Like the last match, this is a Proving Ground Match. Castagnoli earlier decided he wanted new rules for this meaning Taylor has to actually beat him to earn a title shot. The commentators have been pushing that over his career Chuckie has a good record in matches against Claudio.

Claudio has phoned this appearance in so much he even wears his title belt upside down (whilst graphics promote an upcoming title defence of his on an AEW show rather than this one which Honor Club subscribers have paid for, just to rub salt into the wounds). Taylor may feel like Claudio isn't fully focused on this and starts quickly, dragging him outside and brawling on the floor. Sole Food sends the champ reeling again...until Double C recovers for a charging uppercut which knocks Taylor over the guardrails! He refuses to let Chuckie back into the ring either - repeatedly nailing him with big boots every time he tries then dragging him into the crowd for a DDT on a ringside chair. Taylor rallies to hit a plancha, as Rocky Romero and Trent Beretta come out to cheer him on. More uppercuts from Castagnoli, only for Taylor to drop him with the snap piledriver for 2. Swiss Death gets 2, and the Riccola Bomb wins it for the champ at 05:27

Rating - ** - Chuck Taylor looked really up for this, and pretty much carried the match with his energy and willingness to toss his body around. Claudio played the hits and looked the part as a dominant champ, but it was the spirited performance from his opponent which made this as watchable as it was. I really wish they'd have cut a huge chunk of filler from this episode and let these guys cut loose with a serious 10-15 minute main event level match though. I can only assume Claudio was being saved for his actual commitments to the wrestling company Tony Khan actually prioritises though...

Tape Rating - ** - This is a weird show to rate. You had the World Champion delivering one of the most pointless, phoned in appearances on a wrestling television show you're ever likely to see (seriously, his promo was TERRIBLE, and he couldn't even be bothered to check his belt was the right way round), Athena - traditionally one of the best parts of the ROH Honor Club show - only appearing for a brief cameo, and the usual assortment of Dark-style cannon-fodder that continue to devalue ROH's brand value. But there were a few elements that really were worth checking out. The Dark Order/Righteous storyline is good stuff. I like how they are fleshing out Bennett and Taven's characters and using them to build the screen presence of the 'Board Of Directors'. Seeing some New Japan talents give this episode far more name value than many episodes of the Honor Club series (even if their matches weren't particularly good - Despy/Mack aside). And tucked away in the middle you had a killer little Lucha Libre 8-man which I really enjoyed. I'm desperate for ROH TV to be more than a collection of short, mostly pointless matches without much meaning or long-term booking. But whilst that isn't at least the occasional flicker of life like Lucha Bros/Vikingo/Komander vs Taylor/The WorkHorsemen/Gringo keeps things interesting.