McXal's Reviews

It isn't a secret that I'm bitterly disappointed with how the Ring Of Honor brand has been treated under Tony Khan. Reducing this once great promotion to a WWECW-esque version of Dark has been painful to watch, and it is absolutely through a sense of duty and continuity that I persist with this review series, rather than any kind of consistent enjoyment of the 'new' ROH product. But the one saving grace of Khan-era ROH has been that generally all the stops are pulled out to deliver high quality pay-per-views a few times a year. There might not be many stories, you might not have much long-term booking to sink your teeth into, but generally an ROH PPV under Tony Khan has been a guarantee of an exciting night of pro-wrestling. The card tonight suggests more of the same, from Athena and Willow Nightingale in a hotly-anticipated Women's Title Match, Claudio Castagnoli defending the ROH World Title against Pac, Samoa Joe putting the TV Title on the line against former champion Dalton Castle, and the climactic battle in the lengthy feud between Dark Order and The Righteous in a Fight Without Honor. Ian Riccaboni and Caprice Coleman are live in Trenton, NJ.

SIDENOTE - As usual, I'll review the 'Zero Hour' free-to-air pre-show content here, and denote where the pay-per-view portion of the show begins. 

To long-time fans of ROH this should need no introduction. Woods is a former Pure Champion, Williams was the MVP of the tournament that brought the Pure Title back in 2020. They didn't cross paths during that tournament, but do now - and it is definitely Hot Sauce with more to prove. Unlike Woods he isn't a regular on AEW/ROH TV, he hasn't been picked up as part of the new Khan regime and despite being a former TV and Tag Champion needs wins to force himself onto the roster. Woods has Mark Sterling, Tony Nese and Ari Daivari in his corner.

Nice reaction for Williams, who is from New York so is a relatively local guy. He goes to work attacking Josh's leg, but can't keep out of the clutches of the imposing amateur wrestler...and soon has to use his first rope-break to escape a double wristlock. He then inadvertently uses a second rope-break grabbing the ropes as Woods looks to wrench the arm again. Williams is still rattled from that mistake as Woods blasts him with a dead-lift slingshot gutwrench suplex for 2. Woods starts driving knees into the midsection...but Williams grabs the leg again and delivers a back suplex! TURNBUCKLE JUDO DDT gets 2! Woods fires off more shots to the injured ribs, until Tracy grabs the arm on one and hits a PUMPHANDLE DRIVER for 2! Discus lariat follows, then the JUMPING PILEDRIVER! Woods needs a rope-break to escape the pin there. Josh's knees are shaking, but he keeps throwing shots into the sternum and ribs. DOCTOR BOMB gets 2! Gorilla Lock applied...and Hot Sauce has no choice but to use his final rope-break. Woods immediately tries to use the ropes to his advantage, but is dragged out to the apron by Williams. GERMAN SUPLEX ON THE APRON BY WOODS! Tracy can barely stand, and Woods snares him in a fisherman submission in the ropes; stretching that damaged midsection across the middle rope. Williams has no breaks left and submits at 08:39

Rating - *** - This was my favourite Pure Rules Match in a long time. And no real surprise that it featured Tracy Williams, who was outstanding in this environment a few years ago when they relaunched the Pure Division, and has generally been a phenomenal pro-wrestler every time he's been given any kind of role during the Khan era. He is considerably better than many of the wrestlers we see week after week on ROH Dark and was superb here - desperate to earn a spot in victory, then even more desperate when fighting against the tide and in the face of an injury which would prove his undoing. Woods was good too, looking like a machine when targeting Tracy's ribs but maintaining enough vulnerability to put Hot Sauce over and give the match plenty of drama. And I was grateful we saw none of the usual silliness from any of the Varsity Athletes at ringside either. This wasn't a long match at all and there is scope for this kind of quality every week on ROH TV...which is why I get incredibly frustrated with the dross that we do get served up.

For all my criticism of the 'new ROH', it is the one place where these four talents get to wrestle under the Khan promotions umbrella with any kind of consistency. They rarely get very long, but they generally always over-deliver on whatever role they've been given. Andretti and Martin have seen their momentum stall after defeating The Kingdom in a Fight Without Honor then beating United Empire in a trios match a few weeks ago. But they've enjoyed more success in ROH than JD Drake and Anthony Henry, who would like a win on a major show like this to move up the tag division rankings.

The WorkHorsemen don't follow the Code Of Honor and instead jump their opponents before the bell. Drake smears Andretti face-first into the apron, whilst Henry puts a double stomp into Darius' sternum. POP-UP ELBOW STRIKE FROM THE RING TO THE FLOOR! That lethal double team incapacitates Action and leaves them free to isolate and work over Darius. Assisted Ligerbomb combo gets 2 on him in the midst of that. Anklelock by Henry, but Martin at last breaks free into a big tag to Andretti. He BACK FLIPS OFF DRAKE into a bicycle kick! DOUBLE RED STAR PRESS gets 2! Action can't get Drake off his feet, so calls on the assistance of his partner for a POP-UP FLYING DDT! Martin tries a slingshot flatliner, but JD counters with a sidewalk slam! MOONSAULT BY DRAKE! ANDRETTI BREAKS BY DVD-ING HENRY ON TOP OF HIM! DROPKICK/GERMAN COMBO! TKO BY ANDRETTI! He pins Drake to win at 07:20

Rating - *** - This was all kinds of fun too. It was an exhibition into everything you might enjoy about both of these teams. The WorkHorsemen killed it as bullying, veteran heels whilst their opponents were on FIRE in the last few minutes rattling through a veritable highlight reel of whacky spots. Andretti and Darius look terrific in victory, testament both to their own abilities but also to just how good Drake and Henry were as foils for them. Live reports note that that spot where Andretti broke the pin with a DVD was really mis-timed. I assume that has been tidied up for the VOD version of the show (or I really wasn't paying as much attention as I should have been)...

In the most recent episode of Honor Club TV both women put in noteworthy performances. Adora lost her match against Utami Hayashishita, but delivered one of her best showings in an ROH ring whilst pushing one of Stardom's top stars to the limit. Hirsch is still undefeated since making her way to ROH and continued that in her most recent televised bout by defeating for SHIMMER Champion Nicole Matthews. Both women will be in the hunt for an ROH Women's World Title shot at either Athena or Willow...

Adora has plenty of experience along with a height advantage and plenty of smarts meaning Leyla can't bully or dominate her on the mat in the way she's done to some. Their initial battle for superiority on the canvas sees each go after the other's arm with real intensity before battling to a stalemate. Trish blocks an attempted armdrag next and armwrenches Hirsch hard into the mat. Leyla rolls out of the ring just to get some respite from the attacks of her opponent. It creates space, which she uses to trick Adora into a drop toehold then a big knee strike to the head. She stomps Adora's knee next, and when Trish tries to grab the ropes Hirsch stomps the arm as well. At last Legit Leyla is free to attack Adora's arm and she does it with real aggression. PK to the arm gets 2 and has Trish screaming in pain. She manages to block the cross armbreaker with a powerbomb...but Trish rolls away with her arm hanging limp by her side. KNEELING GERMAN nailed, but only gets 2 with the weakened arm a cause of her being unable to maintain the pin. Leyla dropkicks her into the corner...only for Adora to power out with a backbreaker for 2! Lariat Tubman ducked...but Adora dodges Hirsch's knock-out knee strike. CROSS ARMBREAKER! Adora has no choice but to tap at 09:11

Rating - *** - I don't think this was as crisp and concise as it could have been, but there was easily enough good wrestling here to carry it. The first half in particular was very good, with Adora demonstrating that she had the size and skill to make things extremely difficult for Hirsch - who struggled when not able to impose herself and dominate opponents in the manner she likes to. They lost me a little in the second half, where the narrative around Trish's arm was a little muddled (depending on whether she needed to use her arm for a move or not). Nevertheless it was of sufficient quality to feel like a major victory for Leyla, whilst being a good enough 'performance' for Trish that she isn't harmed too much in defeat.

Leyla teases following the Code Of Honor, but then drags Adora down and puts her in the Cross Armbreaker again. Skye Blue makes an unannounced appearance to make the save and chase Hirsch away.

Zero Hour ends with a crunch match between two under-appreciated guys who have consistently done great work on Honor Club since the new ROH show started but have been booked like ass. Taylor is looking to rebound from the disappointment of losing to Dalton Castle in the finals of the TV Title #1 Contendership tournament, whilst Fox missed all of ROH/AEW's dates in Canada so hasn't appeared since June.

The crowd are way into Fox, but he has a tough start as Taylor swats away an attempted superkick and splats him face-first into the canvas. He nips under an attempted punch though, before knocking the legs out from under Shane and hitting a flurry of kicks to send him to the floor. SUICIDE DIVE UP THE AISLE! TOPE ATOMICO AS WELL! He tries another dive off the top...but this time Taylor catches him with a flatliner for 2. Shane T didn't like that flurry of dives from Fox, and does his best to mitigate any more by literally crushing him in the corner and peppering him with strikes. He only lets him out to hurl him across the ring with a biel. AR leaves the ring to catch his breath. LO MEIN RAIN NAILED! AR-KO blocked back into the ring, but he BACK FLIPS out of a chokeslam attempt and levels Taylor again with an enzi. Headbutt/urinage slam/Warrior Splash combo by Taylor! Again Fox tries to crawl to the floor to recover...and is almost punished as Taylor aims a big leg drop at him on the apron. But AR dodges it and hits a lungblower in the ropes then a rope-run elevated DDT for 2. AR-KO COUNTERED INTO WELCOME TO THE LAND! Fox grabs the ropes to kick out! Taylor decides to drag Fox up the turnbuckles, but AR slugs his way out and lands a 450 SPLASH! Fox wins at 10:21

Rating - *** - These are two of my favourite performers of those regularly featured in the new ROH so it isn't surprising that I thought a match between them was really good. They gelled together the size and power of Taylor with the exciting and innovative offence of Fox extremely well. It did feel damaging to have Taylor lose this so soon after dropping the match to Dalton (if only he had won the tournament, been given the fifteen-minute dream match was Joe tonight and left the permanently-popular Castle free for this spot). But they'd already announced that AR Fox would be challenging Orange Cassidy for the International Title on AEW TV the following week, so it is understandable given ROH's place in the pecking order that Fox needed to win here. These guys could do something really special together if they were given a proper platform/storyline/time allocation though...

We're starting with what the promotional material is calling a 'lucha dream match'. It is Komander, a diminutive and exciting lucha talent who has impressed across both ROH and AEW, taking on newcomer Gravity. He is the younger brother of former ROH World Champion Bandido and is looking to make his own way in this organisation just as his brother did before him.

As you might expect, the pace is quick from the outset is fast as they probe each other for weaknesses with a number of elaborate lucha sequences. Gravity looks to be the aggressor for much of it, but is booted to the floor when he starts goofing around...and is wiped out with a somersault plancha. SALUTING SSP gets 2 for Komander! Gravity knocks him back outside, takes a bizarre tumble UP the turnbuckles, then somehow still propels himself into a suicide dive on top of Komander! Back in the ring Komander puts boots through his ribs though, then attempts a ROPE RUN SPRINGBOARD MOONSAULT! GRAVITY GETS HIS BOOTS UP! He hits a sit-out powerbomb for 2 after that. The two luchadors stand in the middle of the ring trading strikes, before Gravity catches Komander's arm and drills him with another powerbomb. Heel kick by Komander, setting up a DOUBLE SPRINGBOARD CORKSCREW MOONSAULT TO THE FLOOR! He thinks about another SSP as well, but takes too long and is cut off in the corner by Gravity. ROPE RUN ARMDRAG gets 2! Both men scrap on the apron next, with Komander dropping his foe ribs-first over the turnbuckles then climbing the ropes again. TIGHTROPE WALK SPRINGBOARD MOONSAULT GETS 2! Springboard super rana nailed...but Gravity rolls him up and nabs a flash pin to win at 10:05!

Rating - *** - Exhibition-style lucha spot-fests are always fun. In this position as an opener to a PPV this worked well. I certainly didn't love it, and there were quite a number of really clunky transitions here which looked pretty terrible. But it was carried by thrilling moments which came frequently, and actually the finish was directly relevant to that as well with Komander going for one flashy spot too many and being punished by a moment of calculated cunning from Gravity. 

Castle won an eliminator tournament to earn this title shot, with victories over Tony Nese and Shane Taylor. He has held this championship before, and having as the man that ended 'American Nightmare' Cody Rhodes' ROH World Title reign will have no fear when it comes to facing seemingly insurmountable obstacles. But Joe is the most dominant ROH TV Champion of all time. Granted he isn't actually on ROH TV very much, but he has swatted away all comers for this belt and is in the midst of arguably an even more dominant championship reign than his legendary World Title run almost twenty years ago. 

Joe makes Dalton wait...but Castle can play mindgames too, leaving the ring to frolic with The Boys when the champ is finally ready to lock up. He gets in and tries to grapple Joe, laying in a few strikes and planting him with a DDT. Joe needs the ropes to recover, but when he emerges Castle double-legs him down again to mount him with a flurry of knee strikes. But he can't keep the Samoan down...and is soon on the receiving end of a punishing sequence of blows from the champ. The pace slows and Joe starts to dominate; hammering Castle with signature strike sequences and honing in on that problem midsection of the challenger with sentons and elbow drops. And he has a mean streak with it; choking Castle using the ropes making it even harder for him to catch his breath. The challenger is thrown to the floor...but The Boys immediately toss him back in, much to Joe's irritation. It gives Dalton time to recover...only to be quickly dropped again with Joe's snap powerslam. Joe is still distracted by The Boys though, even moreso when he headbutts Dalton off the apron only for The Boys to catch him and throw him back again! Tope suicida by Dalton...Joe walks out of the way...BUT THE BOYS CATCH HIM! Tiger feint headscissors on the floor by Castle. TOPE SUICIDA NAILED! Now The Boys put Joe back into the ring so Dalton can continue taking the fight to him! EXPLODER SUPLEX! EVEREST GERMAN! Joe falls out of the ring to survive! He desperately screams at Board Of Directors member Stokely Hathaway at ringside...terrifying Stokely sufficiently to order the ref to eject The Boys from ringside. And whilst all that goes on Joe gets time to recover, then kicks Dalton in the balls! Choke applied...and Joe retains at 13:34

Rating - *** - The finish was a little silly for my taste. I actually thought they had good chemistry as opponents, with Castle's combination of deceptive wrestling skill, pageantry and assistance from The Boys at ringside making him a surprisingly difficult opponent for Joe to overcome. The actual wrestling here was solid; Joe dominating but Dalton constantly able to throw him off his game. They really didn't need a shenanigan-filled bullsh*t finish. Joe is a dominant champion. ROH fans accept him as a dominant champion, and certainly didn't need Castle protected to such an extent that it needed theatrics with Stokely Hathaway AND a low blow to beat him. 

As far as thrown together championship matches go, this is undeniably star-packed. The Kingdom have been petitioning for a Tag Title Match for some-time, having never received a direct rematch after losing the belts to the Briscoes at Final Battle 2021. They are joined in this one by Aussie Open and defending champions the Lucha Bros - all three teams survivors of the Reach For The Sky Ladder Match at Supercard Of Honor which saw Penta and Rey Fenix crowned. Best Friends are the outliers, but they have plenty of ROH history too - and are looking to win titles which eluded them during their previous run in the company. Riccaboni reminds us that they have some history with the Lucha Bros as well...

The Kingdom try to double up on Taylor to start, but it comes back to bite them as Taven is tossed and the Best Friends get in some early combo moves on Bennett. Fenix and Fletcher in next; tearing into each other with forearms. Rey tries the tumbling Ace Crusher...but Kyle plucks him out of the air and slams him to the canvas! Fenix dodges the double Aussie clothesline spot and launches himself OFF Davis into a cutter on Fletcher! Rocket Launcher double DDT combo by the Lucha Bros! CRAZY strike duel between the Lucha Bros and Aussie Open, before both are bundled out by The Kingdom! Best Friends hit some of their silly rope-launch moves on Taven, but then both are smashed out by the Aussies too. AIR TAVEN UP THE AISLE! STEREO TOPE ATOMICOS by the Lucha Bros! Bennett gets carried away and wants to try a dive as well, but he gets caught on the top rope by Beretta and SUPERPLEXED TO THE FLOOR ON TOP OF EVERYONE! Aurora Borealis from Taven to Trent gets the closest nearfall of the match so far. Proton Pack countered with a missile dropkick though, and with Chuckie out of commission Trent has no choice but to tag out to Pentagon. ROPE RUN PK by Fenix! PENTAGON DRIVER GETS 2! Taven blocks Fear Factor, and Aussie Open forcibly tag in to steamroll everyone else in the match! Kick Of The King by Taven stops them from pinning Penta though. ROCK STAR SUPERNOVA by The Kingdom gets 2. Best Friends chase Taven up the turnbuckles for an ELECTRIC CHAIR SUPERPLEX! Bennett smashes them in the face before they can celebrate with hugs though. SOLE FOOD/HALF NELSON SUPLEX COMBO! Maria Kanellis distracts Chuck as he sets up for the Awful Waffle...but Taylor hugs Trent instead! GRIMSTONE PILEDRIVER by Fletcher! CRADLE PILEDRIVER BY BERETTA! CLOSE YOUR EYES PILEDRIVER BY DAVIS! DOUBLE STOMP FEAR FACTOR BY THE LUCHA BROS! Bennett breaks the pin to save the match there. HAIL MARY ON PENTA! HE KICKS OUT AT ONE! Proton Pack blocked! STRONG ZERO BY BEST FRIENDS! LUCHA BROS BREAK THE PIN! Chuck brawls to the outside with them, as inside the ring Aussie Open clobber Beretta! CORIOLIS! AUSSIE OPEN WIN! New Tag Champions at 17:07

Rating - **** - This was an absolute riot. The Lucha Bros have done absolutely nothing of relevance as ROH Tag Champions, but that says more about their booking than it does their skills. They absolutely relish multi-person spot battles like this and killed it like always. Everyone played their part quite superbly. The Kingdom revelled in their role as the antagonists of the piece. Best Friends played the hits and popped the crowd with some of their sillier shenanigans. Aussie Open - who could be forgiven for feeling their way back in given that Davis is coming off an injury - were equally fantastic as wrecking balls; bashing and blasting through all comers every time they were involved. Everyone got moments to shine, they all paced the match really well and it ends with an interesting choice as new ROH Tag Champions - assuming Tony actually gives them something to do and lets them appear on ROH TV every now and then.

The Righteous and Stu Grayson are backstage preparing for their Fight Without Honor against Dark Order. Vincent wants violence tonight, whilst Grayson calls himself the 'last real member of Dark Order' and hopes his opponents don't disappoint him tonight.

The ROH Trios Titles are a gimmicky joke at this point, as evidenced by a completely random thrown together team getting a title shot on PPV. Wato and Taguchi are in from New Japan where they team regularly. Ruffin is lots of fun, but has barely featured on ROH TV and now has a title shot on a PPV. I've not seen the match yet and I'm already certain the show would be better with this cut altogether and more time given to other matches.

Cage and Taguchi start for their teams, with the savvy Japanese veteran soon joined by Wato to team up on The Machine. They injure Liona's leg too...but allow Cage ill-advised time to recover and he profits by hitting a German suplex on both of them simultaneously. Ruffin is on the run on the floor, knocking heads with Kaun on the way. But as soon as he slithers back into the ring Toa obliterates him with a tackle and instantly cuts the ring off to prevent him tagging. The Embassy take turns mauling Leon, as a split-screen reveals that Big Bill is watching the action backstage. Ruffin blocks Kaun's turnbuckle backbreaker, springboarding multiple times off the ropes before landing a DDT which opens the way for a hot tag to Wato. He fights valiantly despite all three members of The Embassy seemingly lining up to try to take him out. In the end he can't force an unlikely submission on Cage before Toa splats him into the canvas. Taguchi tags and starts throwing around the big hip attacks, then trips Kaun into an Anklelock. Lariat by Toa to break that. 619 from The Machine to Master W! So Taguchi boots Cage into the ropes and hits a 619 on him too. Prince Nana tries to intervene on his team's behalf...so the sneaky veteran Taguchi boots Kaun with an unseen low blow and almost snatches victory. Springboard cutter from Ruffin to Cage, leaving him one-on-one with Toa. The big man hits a backbreaker, before being joined by his team-mates to toss Ruffin up into the lights. He is toast after that, with Liona pinning him to retain at 12:20

Rating - ** - I would say this was comfortably the least I've enjoyed a match all night, and yet strangely this actually exceeded my expectations somewhat. I've not really liked Taguchi as a performer for a long time, yet found myself drawn to his performance as a street-smart veteran here. Similarly Ruffin has never been one of my favourites, but he was genuinely likeable and fun to watch whilst taking a beating. It was completely skippable filler, and another in the long line of examples of why this championship should be ditched...but as a standalone wrestling match had more quality and points of interest than you might predict.

It is two months since we last saw Shibata in an ROH ring, defending his Pure Title against one of his students in Alex Coughlin. Since that time he's worked a few matches in AEW, but doesn't maintain as consistent a schedule as Garcia for obvious reasons. The challenger comes into this highly motivated. He is a former Pure Champion, he feels disrespected by Shibata, and thinks he is being under-estimated due to his preoccupation with being considered an entertainer. Can he unseat the veteran champion tonight?

Shibata basically crawls along the ground towards Garcia, essentially forcing the challenger to get on the mat and start grappling. Garcia tries to dance his way back to a vertical base, only for the champ to stamp on his hands. Figure 4 Leglock applied, and a panicked Garcia quickly uses his first rope-break. Having seen Shibata dominate the first two minutes, the challenger stomps out of the ring for a break...and in doing so lures Shibata out to dump him into the guardrails. Garcia mocks Shibata's cross-legged pose, with grave consequences as an enraged Shibata pummels him with such force he ends up on his ass in the front row. The champ tries to retrieve him, only for Garcia to snap his arm over the railings then blast his shoulder into the ringpost. The attack on the arm is swift and ferocious, giving the challenger a pathway to victory and potentially taking away Shibata's vaunted Sleeper hold. He peppers Shibata with strikes and when he tries to respond, DG grabs the arm and wrenches it hard sending Shibata to the mat once more. Garcia takes a break to dance, which the crowd love...but it buys Shibata plenty of time to recover. He simply sits cross-legged on the mat watching Garcia be an idiot. Finally he EXPLODES with chops and kicks, beating Garcia onto his ass in the corner. Garcia goes back to the arm to counter the Sleeper, then pulls him down into the Walls Of Jericho. Shibata counters to a triangle choke, but again Garcia uses the arm to escape. SUPLEX DUEL! They literally keep suplexing each other and refusing to let go until they both pass out! Shibata boots him in the head and hits a Back Drop Driver...but Garcia no-sells it and charges again! BOTH MEN COLLAPSE! Kawada Kicks by Shibata, so Garcia wrenches the arm again and pulls the champ down into the Dragon Tamer! COUNTERED TO THE SLEEPER HOLD! BACK SUPLEX by Garcia to break! NO SOLD! SLAPS! SLEEPER! Garcia tries to fight it but can't get the arm...then does one last defiant dance as he succumbs to unconsciousness! PK! Shibata retains at 14:36

Rating - **** - Having never been particularly interested in the Garcia trying to be an entertainer and dancing like a goofball angle from AEW, it completely took me by surprise that it was actually the juxtaposition in character that made this easily my favourite Shibata in ROH/AEW match so far. Watching 'The Wrestler' try to have an ultra-serious, grounded contest against a leather pants clad dork who clearly has skills as a grappler but constantly strays from that to gyrate like a moron was undeniably entertaining. And it was a legitimate strategy for Garcia. The opening two minutes showed that when he tried to straight-up wrestle with Shibata he was outclassed. Yet every time he broke up the momentum with a dance, or ran out of the ring he wound up on top. He opened up an arm injury which he frequently used to his advantage. But ultimately he didn't do enough damage to the legs or back to soften Shibata up for the Dragon Tamer, which proved to be his undoing. Perhaps my favourite moment of the match was that even in certain defeat, Garcia still danced. He went out swinging, sticking to his gameplan and being himself to the very end. This was a complete hidden gem - and I say that as a critic who doesn't like the Pure Title, doesn't like dancing Garcia and finds watching post-injury Shibata hugely uncomfortable. I don't think there will be many matches which catch me more off guard all year.

Aussie Open cut a triumphant first promo as ROH Tag Champions.

The history between The Righteous and Dark Order runs deep. Vincent and Dutch developed a fascination with the AEW stalwart faction, in particular Grayson, from the moment they returned to ROH. Preaching violence and aggression, their mantra seemed to resonate with Stu; convincing him to turn his back on Dark Order (including his long-time friend and partner Uno) to join them. Evil Uno was visibly hurt by the decision but under constant provocation from The Righteous he, Reynolds and Silver have become more aggressive and angst-ridden with each passing bout. Both sides feel this rivalry has to be settled in Ring Of Honor's signature grudge match. Grayson is wearing matching white gear to The Righteous for the first time.

No handshakes from Dark Order, and the match begins with Vincent, Dutch, Reynolds and Silver all brawling to the floor leaving the former Smash Bros alone and staring intensely at each other. SPEAR OFF THE APRON THROUGH A TABLE from Grayson to Uno! Silver brings a 2x4 into the ring, but can't even use it before Dutch pulls his own 2x4 out wrapped in barbed wire. Johnny dropkicks the barbed wire into his face! Blood immediately spills down Dutch's face, as Reynolds picks up the barbed wire plank and tries to use it on Marseglia. Dutch saves his partner and gives Alex a facebuster on the barbed wire! Silver comes to the aid of his bloody partner, and fills the ring with thumbtacks. But Grayson is back and attacks him from behind - feeding Silver into a BOSSMAN SLAM IN THE TACKS by Dutch! Evil Uno is the only member of Dark Order standing currently, and he comes in swinging a chair to scatter The Righteous. But he is outnumbered and soon Vincent smashes his head into the chair and starts ripping his mask open to expose a bloody gash on his forehead. Silver stops Grayson from hitting Nightfall into the tacks, and Reynolds is soon behind with another chair. STUNNER/GERMAN SUPLEX COMBO gets 2 on Dutch! UNO SMASHES VINCENT WITH THE BARBED WIRE BAT! He pulls out his own bag which is filled with Lego pieces! Stu saves Marseglia before Dark Order can use the Lego bricks though. DUTCH POWERBOMBS UNO INTO THE LEGO AND TACKS! Vincent climbs...REDRUM SENTON THROUGH A TABLE ON THE FLOOR! BUT IT DOESN'T BREAK! TOP ROPE FROG SPLASH BY GRAYSON THROUGH THE TABLE! POWERBOMB INTO THE LEGO AND TACKS AGAIN BY DUTCH! BUT UNO KICKS OUT! That sequence was completely insane! And Dutch is about to make it worse as he pulls out a barbed wire table from under the ring. Grayson scoops Reynolds on his shoulders then climbs onto the stage. DDT ON THE STAGE by Reynolds! So Dutch charges up the ramp and hits a big splash on him! REYNOLDS SHOVES DUTCH OFF THE STAGE THROUGH THE BARBED WIRE TABLE! Silver loads up a thumbtack-covered kickpad. TACK KAWADA KICKS ON VINCENT! THUMBTACK PK NAILED! Grayson rips into Uno with brutal knee strikes before depositing him onto tables in the aisle. He brings out a colossal ladder and opens it up in the ring next! But it takes him so long to climb that Uno recovers. UNO HEAVES GRAYSON FROM THE TOP OF THE LADDER THROUGH THE TABLES ON THE FLOOR! Doctors rush to check on Stu, but are tossed away by Reynolds and Silver who toss him back into the ring. Grayson smiles and offers himself to the Dark Order. CRUCIFIX BOMB INTO THE TACKS! Uno pins Grayson to win at 15:41

Rating - **** - A really enjoyable, completely wild, bloody, weapon-filled brawl to bring the curtain down on what has been one of the most interesting angles on ROH television all year (admittedly there haven't been many others). Not everything came off exactly how they'd planned, but they kept the energy and pace high throughout and even after more than twenty years of Fights Without Honor they did some new things we'd not seen in ROH before. I loved the finish, with Grayson offering himself to the more aggressive Dark Order and smiling as if he'd accomplished his mission. He hasn't been seen in ROH since (nor AEW, according to Cagematch, save for one non-televised bout), and leaves having been the catalyst to drive his old team-mates to a higher level. If you were being picky you could suggest that The Righteous could probably use the win more than Dark Order to help the faction get over in the 'new ROH' with AEW's fanbase, but from a storyline perspective I see why they went in this direction.

The last time Pac was in an ROH ring it was Manhattan Mayhem 2 all the way back in 2007, when he had a misfiring match with Davey Richards and was never given another chance. It is ironic then that he returns some sixteen years later as part of a pay-per-view double main event with the World Title in the line. He was brought back to AEW by the Blackpool Combat Club as part of Blood & Guts earlier in the week, but turned his back on them immediately and is now gunning for Claudio's title. There has been a lot of moving parts to get us to this main event, with Eddie Kingston the original top contender sidelined by competing in the G1, then the announced Claudio/Briscoe main event cancelled due to Mark's injury...can Pac profit from the sliding doors of circumstance and leave as ROH Champion tonight? And what shape is the World Champion in just days removed from Blood & Guts against the Golden Elite?

Claudio charges Pac and looks for the Neutralizer immediately, sending the challenger scurrying to the floor to block it! SWISS DEATH gets 2! Still Pac blocks the Neutralizer though, luring Castagnoli to the floor and looking for a moonsault off the apron. But Claudio catches him and drops him sternum-first into the guardrail! Big Swing blocked and once again The Bastard flees the ring, this time crawling all the way onto the stage. BIG SWING ON THE STAGE! He sets up the Neutralizer as well, but Pac blocks with a back body drop and the rough landing appears to injure Double C's knee. TOP ROPE MOONSAULT TO THE FLOOR by Pac, causing that knee to crumple under Claudio. He decides he wants to use a table too, but takes so much time setting it up that Claudio is able to recover and blast him with a running uppercut. He charges again...but Pac dodges causing Castagnoli's knee to hit the barricade. Back inside Pac powers the champ into a SUPER BRAINBUSTER! Castagnoli is rattled, but he defies a barrage of strikes from Pac then scoops him up for a PRESS SLAM THROUGH THE TABLE ON THE FLOOR! And to show his desperation, Claudio climbs the ropes too - landing a top rope elbow drop. MMA ELBOWS! Still the Neutralizer is blocked though. Dragonrana COUNTERED TO THE NEUTRALIZER! PAC KICKS OUT! Both battle-weary competitors struggle to recover after that and come up wearily throwing strikes. German by Pac...no sold into a lariat by the champ, causing them both to collapse again. Superkicks by Pac, into a DEAD-LIFT GERMAN for 2. The challenger thinks about the Black Arrow only to be intercepted on the ropes by Claudio. Springboard super rana attempted by Pac. CLAUDIO COUNTERS TO AN AVALANCHE RICOLA BOMB...BUT PAC COUNTERS TO A MID-AIR FRANKENSTEINER! BLACK ARROW MISSES! RICOLA BOMB COUNTERED TO THE BRUTALIZER! Claudio tries to Samoan drop his way out of it but Pac just won't let go. CLAUDIO CLIMBS THE ROPES WHILST IN THE BRUTALIZER! AVALANCHE AIR RAID CRASH! BOTH MEN DOWN! Wheeler Yuta runs down the ramp to distract Pac, and Claudio grabs him for a RICOLA BOMB! Claudio retains at 18:30

Rating - **** - It is far from the first time these two have shared a ring together, and they delivered exactly what you'd expect from two top class, highly experienced elite professional wrestlers. It was a snapshot into what has made both of them so great for such a long period of time. Claudio is fantastic as base for high-flying, athletic performers like Pac. Everything he does looks brutal and dominant, but he is also so creative and freakishly agile that he can play his part in some truly outrageous spots. That super rana/Ricola Bomb/frankensteiner sequence off the top rope was incredible. Claudio's incredible power to walk up the turnbuckles whilst in the Brutalizer was mesmerising to watch. If you were being harsh you could point to the work around Claudio's knee which didn't really go anywhere, a slight lull in the third quarter of the contest before the blockbuster finishing sequence, and Yuta's interference was wholly unimaginative...but these are minor issues. For a thrown together World Title match, on a few days notice, just a couple of days out from Blood & Guts, this was a superb big powerhouse vs smaller high-flyer battle. 

The Lucha Bros run out to confront Claudio and Yuta, reuniting the Death Triangle and launching a 3-on-2 beatdown. Best Friends are still sore after their encounter with Penta and Fenix earlier so they come out looking for a fight with Death Triangle...and they have Orange Cassidy with them. He inadvertently socks Claudio with an Orange Punch in the melee.

It is a significant moment in the history of Ring Of Honor as the women's division main events a pay-per-view for the first time. And after the immense quality we've seen during her run it is a spot Athena has earned on merit. She has fought ferociously and taken on all comers. We've seen her defend the belt against Joshi stars from Japan, in Street Fights and when she isn't defending the belt she is almost constantly in Proving Ground action. And still one of her most notorious title defences remains her stellar bout with Willow back in March on ROH TV. On that night these two rivals waged a fifteen minute war, delivering one of the best ROH Women's Championship matches ever, and it was Athena who came out on top. But Nightingale hasn't gone away. Since then she has defeated Mercedes Mone for the NJPW Strong Women's Title, and won the 2023 Owen Hart Women's Invitational Tournament...including a victory over Athena. It means they come into this tied at 1-1 in 2023 and evenly matched. Can the Fallen Goddess cling on to her spot at the top of ROH's women's division?

Fans chant 'new champ' and 'let's go Willow' before the bell, and it unsettles Athena so much that she leaves the ring and delays locking up with the challenger. When they do lock-up Nightingale muscles and bullies the champion around, leaving her on her ass in the corner to send an early message. She tries to quicken the pace but Willow keeps up every step of the way there too. And she can't out-strike Willow either, as the challenger takes her best shots before blasting her with an enziguri. Athena actually goes for flash pins (like how she lost in the OHF Tournament) but can't keep her opponent down. BIG ELBOWS on the apron by Athena, before she shoves Willow shoulder-first into the turnbuckles then hits a SIDE EFFECT ON THE APRON! Nightingale comes up holding her shoulder, a repeat of the strategy which helped Athena beat her back in March. Athena is merciless, capitalising on the injury to pummel her neck with kicks and elbows. POUNCE BY WILLOW! Hip attack in the corner follows, then a spinebuster for 2. They trade strikes, until Athena wrenches the bad arm and uses that to tee up a vicious flurry of head kicks. WRATH OF THE GODDESS gets 2! Caprice points out that Willow countering that is how Athena lost in the tournament. The champ tries to drive her onto the apron again, but this time Nightingale counters with a FLYING CROSSBODY TO THE FLOOR! APRON BOMB! Athena shakes that off and dropkicks Willow back into the ring steps (as happened in their last title match). Willow moves and hits a CANNONBALL INTO THE STEPS! It takes too long for Willow to get Athena back in though. Standing moonsault attempted by Athena...but Willow CATCHES HER AND HITS SMASH MOUSE! Former ROH Women's Champion Sumie Sakai's finisher! ROYAL BUTTERFLY! GETS 2! They are running through the playbooks of old ROH/SHIMMER stars here! Dangerous Babe Bomb blocked into a HEART PUNCH! YAKUZA KICK! MIND TRIP! GETS 2! She drags Willow to the corner and hits MSCHIF'S OBLITERATION! DEAD-LIFT POWERBOMB BY ATHENA GETS 2! She thinks it is over and climbs to the top...but Nightingale grabs her before she can land the O-Face. SUPER DVD gets 2 for Willow. Athena crawls away from Willow just like their first match...and when they meet on the floor Athena slams her on the floor and smashes her into the steps. O-FACE NAILED! WILLOW KICKS OUT! The crowd goes NUTS for that! Athena is beside herself with rage, and doesn't see Willow coming with the DANGEROUS BABE BOMB! FOR 2! Willow decides she needs to hit that from the top to finish it off, leaving Athena so desperate she bites and scratches free. O-FACE AGAIN! CROSSFACE LOCKED IN! WILLOW COUNTERS TO A ROLL-UP FOR 2! ATHENA ROLLS BACK TO THE CROSSFACE! WILLOW IS OUT! ATHENA WINS! The ref has stopped it at 20:25

Rating - **** - There was so much to celebrate here. The Women's Title didn't just main event a pay-per-view, it was the main event on merit. Listen to the crowd for this, they were more invested in this than anything else all night and were absolutely rocking as they went back and forth in the climactic moments of this. They tore the house down, stole the show and delivered a spectacular headline bout. Perhaps the nostalgia blast of using old ROH/SHIMMER legends went on a little too long for such a niche sequence (even though plenty of fans - myself included - absolutely lapped it up) and came at the expense of some of the awesome ways they were riffing on their previous encounters earlier in the match. In terms of attention to detail and telling a fleshed out WRESTLING story their first match pips this in my opinion. But this one meant so much more than just nitty gritty, finicky details. This was about delivering a moment in time, about knocking it out of the park on the biggest platform the ROH Women's Championship has ever received. And it ended up being pretty damn special to witness.

The crowd loudly groans as Willow succumbs to defeat, but are soon back giving them both a deserved standing ovation. Athena shows respect to Nightingale, raises her hand then bows to her...

Tape Rating - **** - The jury is very much out on whether it is worth keeping ROH's corpse on life support for hours of crap Dark-esque TV and three quality pay-per-views per year. But like I said during my introductory paragraph for this review, when those PPV's do come around Tony Khan and his 'new ROH' can usually be relied upon to deliver the goods. Once again we didn't get much in the way of storylines or anything which delivers long-term significance to the Ring Of Honor brand...but as a night of in-ring action this was exceptional. There isn't a bad match all night, few lulls whilst the highs are plentiful and frequent. The double World Title main events are stunning. The Fight Without Honor is suitably bruising and bloody. Shibata and Garcia pull out something astonishingly good with the Pure Title at stake. The Tag Title multi-man spot-fest was an absolute riot. This is the Ring Of Honor I want to see more of. Any time Tony has been able to separate ROH from AEW with its own tapings/PPV then the quality always steps up. It was a world away from the current TV product - where most of these talents never appear and matches rarely last more than a few minutes - and all the better for it. 

3) Lucha Bros vs Aussie Open vs The Kingdom vs Best Friends (****)

2) Claudio Castagnoli vs Pac (****)

1) Athena vs Willow Nightingale (****)