McXal's Reviews

Lets not pretend that Ring Of Honor is in a good place right now. It isn't even a good companion piece to AEW programming, let alone a strong product in any standalone sense. But in an effort to inject some positivity into this intro paragraph; there are at least some big names on the show this week. World Champion Claudio Castagnoli is in action. As is Pure Champion Katsuyori Shibata (teaming with the returning Eddie Kingston). Athena defends her Women's World Title too, and that always tends to be a highlight of Honor Club TV. We are taped in Chicago, IL during All Out weekend. Ian Riccaboni and Caprice Coleman are on commentary.

Backstage at All Out, Lexy Nair interviews Athena in the wake of her trios defeat at Zero Hour (teaming with Diamante and Mercedes Martinez to face Hikaru Shida, Willow Nightingale and Skye Blue - a match which would have been AWESOME on ROH TV...but of course ROH TV is treated like dirt). Athena is angry at her 'minion' Billie Starkz for not helping 'Diabla' when they were losing. Allysin Kay interrupts and lays out a challenge which Athena somewhat reluctantly accepts. Without saying much Billie was excellent in this segment...

Why on earth is this opening the show? I've seen what the main event is and there's absolutely no reason this shouldn't have been headlining. This isn't taped live, they can air the matches in any order they want! Kay is not the 'porcelain hussy' Athena dismissed her as in that interview. She is a veteran who has wrestled and held titles in promotions all over the world. The Fallen Goddess has been a dominant champion, but has incurred a couple of losses on AEW programming recently. 

Athena chins Kay, then drops her with an armdrag before pausing to celebrate smugly. AK immediately punishes that arrogance with a few displays of strength, including a fallaway slam and a big boot which drives the champ to the floor. Athena hides behind Billie Starkz to buy some time to recover, and as Allysin is distracted by Starkz the champ pops out from behind and rams her into the barricade. Billie struggles with an internal dilemma over whether to take cheap shots at Kay or not...and thinks better of it. Back in the ring champion and challenger take turns firing off big strikes in the corner, but after being weakened outside it is clear Allysin's strikes aren't having the same impact. Athena hangs her in the ropes and delivers a flurry of forearms to the neck, pausing only to admonish Billie for not counting along with the strikes. The Fallen Goddess continues to swarm Kay; mounting her and delivering an unopposed series of forearms and elbows to the extent that the ref briefly considers a stoppage. Allysin hangs on...whilst Athena makes fun of one of her old gimmicks by holding her 'pinky up'. That pisses AK off and she explodes off the mat with a swinging neckbreaker. Chokebomb gets 2 for the challenger. AK47 nailed, and Kay hangs on to apply an Anklelock. Athena climbs the ropes to escapes into the KNOCK-OUT ELBOW STRIKE! The champ hobbles up the ropes, taking too long to set up the O-Face and finding her path blocked by a resurgent Kay. Superplex blocked...O-FACE NAILED! Athena wins at 09:19

Rating - *** - The stakes in this one felt as high as they have at any point on ROH television since Death Before Dishonor. It wasn't necessarily the most violent or exciting of matches, but it had a big match vibe simply because of how these two experienced athletes carry themselves. Kay certainly isn't a regular and may not have been someone everyone in an AEW crowd would recognise, but she had no problem presenting as a serious and credible challenger to Athena. She is tall, and has a moveset which looks like it hurts. It visually looked like a struggle for Athena to weaken her - and the champion ultimately only gained the advantage because she used the unwitting assistance of Billie Starkz during that skirmish on the floor. The little touches to flesh out the Athena/Billie relationship were great, and the match ended with one of the more spectacular O-Face's Athena has pulled out so far.

Athena calls Billie into the ring and instructs her to stomp Kay's face into the Women's Title belt. Starkz refuses...so Athena does it herself before storming away yelling at Billie as she departs.

Clips are shown of ROH Tag Champion MJF brawling with ROH TV Champion Samoa Joe on Dynamite. What a lovely reminder of how most of ROH's title holders never appear on this show...

Last week we saw another one of Mark Sterling's clients look to get his career back on track by defeating 'Last Real Man' Silas Young. Now it is Nese lined up to face the former TV Champion...

Silas objects to Nese calling himself the only 'real man' in Chicago tonight and lays in a few early shots to the Premier Athlete. He knocks Nese off the apron with a springboard clothesline, but is then distracted by Smart Mark, presenting Tony with the opportunity to smash him into the ringpost. That was essentially the same opening segment that Athena/Kay just ran right? Unlike Billie Starkz, however, Sterling has no issue getting in cheap shots - and holds Young's arm against the ropes allowing Nese to get in some shots to the exposed limb. Tony goes to work on the arm doing sufficient damage to leave it hanging limply at Silas' side. Nese tries to jerk the arm in the ropes again, but Silas counters with a slingshot double stomp. He can't get Nese up for Misery because of the injured arm though, and Tony rockets him shoulder-first into the turnbuckles. Running K-Nese wins it at 05:24

Rating - ** - A perfectly solid outing for both men. I've enjoyed having Silas back on ROH TV over the last couple of weeks and he has acquitted himself admirably even whilst relegated to the role of enhancement talent. He worked well with Nese here...but unfortunately as of writing in 2024 this is the last time he has wrestled on Honor Club TV.

Dalton Castle admits he is incredibly 'flustered' as Stokely Hathaway and Samoa Joe continue to 'collude' and keep him away from the ROH TV Title. 

Angelico and Serpentico are on something of a role, which they are looking to continue tonight. Priest is well-liked among many critics who regularly watch him. Schaff is a trainee of AR Fox, and last worked ROH jobber duty back on Episode 12.

Priest starts and wisely tries to wrestle with Angelico, perhaps knowing he can't keep up with him if the pace quickens. That works until Serpentico joins his partner and they unleash a couple of combo moves to get ahead. Priest tags Schaff in - and as the most powerful man in the match he starts manhandling Serp. They work through a really ugly little exchange on the mat, culminating in a hot tag to Angelico. He and Schaff are slightly awkward with each other too, but Angelico levels him with a couple of big kicks to the head. Cruceta Invertidas applied, causing Schaff to submit at 03:31

Rating - DUD - I have a soft spot for Angelico because I enjoyed watching him in Lucha Underground. But realistically that was a long time ago. Nothing about his work in ROH has been particularly compelling, and indeed not only was this match uneventful as far as squashes go - there were also moments of real clumsiness too. 

Kiera Hogan faces former partner Leila Grey later. She says it doesn't matter who she faces, as she'll run through everyone...

Blue hasn't wrestled in ROH since Episode 16. She is back, and teaming with the ever-popular Willow to take on The Renegades. Robyn and Charlette Renegade have been a growing force in the ROH Women's division. Failing to beat Athena and Billie Starkz was an undoubted backwards step - but it would be huge for them if they could defeat women like Willow and Skye who are regularly featured on AEW shows.

Blue competes in Chicago flag gear which further endears her to the crowd, as she plants Charlette with an early dropkick. She and Nightingale land a neckbreaker/senton combo for a swift nearfall too. Charlette blocks Code Blue though, and Robyn makes an unseen blind tag before levelling Skye with a cheap-shot from behind. Caprice spots that after pairing up on Skye the Renegades don't actually swap places meaning Charlette remains in the ring. Blue blocks a DVD though and somersaults into a hot tag to Willow. POUNCE on Robyn! Spinebuster on Charlette gets 2. The Renegades strike back on her with tandem rolling elbows though. Skye jumps in and tosses Charlette, as Willow lays Robyn out with a running DVD. Code Blue nailed, giving Skye the win at 05:23

Rating - ** - Short and relatively entertaining whilst it lasted. It is quite difficult not to enjoy Willow Nightingale in action, even in matches like this where she doesn't actually feature very heavily. My main issue with this was that it felt like two women who are predominantly AEW talents at this point (Blue and Willow) coming in and squashing The Renegades just as they are starting to build momentum in ROH. It is fine to have them lose to teams like Athena and Billie, which made sense in the context of a story the four women were telling. This loss makes them feel like B-list, inferior talents.

This is a Proving Ground Match, which seems a tad unfair on the thrown together trio of challengers when other lobbed together trios have gotten title shots at The Embassy right away. Metalik has challenged unsuccessfully for the titles before but will perhaps have better luck when joined by another luchador. Garrison is a hot prospect, and one which we've heard that Maria Kanellis is keeping an eye on.

Kaun and Griff start us off, as the commentators reveal that Maria was looking for Garrison in the locker room earlier. Bishop drags the youngster back to The Embassy corner, feeding him into a belly to belly suplex from Toa. The Machine has a turn brutalising Garrison, before the kid makes a much-needed tag to Gravity. Handspring elbow blocked but the luchador is too spritely for Cage and repeatedly takes him down with some Lucha Libre trickery. Metalik lands a springboard crossbody, followed by a spinning bulldog and an unnecessarily complex missile dropkick. Rope-walk somersault senton gets 2. Griff plants Bishop with an elbow...only to turn his back on Liona as the big man takes aim with a violent running tackle. Metalik is left fighting all three champions alone, and is put away with an elevated splash from Toa. The Embassy win at 04:44

Rating - * - Largely predictable from start to finish. It wasn't a complete waste of time; Kaun and Garrison had a couple of nice exchanges and there was plenty of 'action' to get through in less than five minutes. But none of it felt particularly substantial, and having watched this Embassy trio work very similar matches for MONTHS there was very limited appeal to this. From a continuity perspective it was also strange that opponents like Metalik and Gravity - who have achieved some measure of success on Honor Club TV thus far - were comparably treated like utter jobbers for The Embassy whilst other teams of far less repute have gotten much more shine.

Former partners collide here. Hogan returned after a prolonged absence last week and made short work of Lady Frost. It was an impressive win and signalled a return to form for her after she failed in consecutive Women's Title shots against Athena. If she wants another title opportunity she needs to put more wins together...

Grey quickly starts cheating - first pulling the tights then taking a cheap shot in her desire to get ahead. Her advantage is fleeting though, with Hogan hitting a nasty double knee strike into the back then a Rocker Dropper for 2. Leila takes another cheap shot though, then starts battering Hogan in the corner with a succession of hard strikes. Even when Kiera dodges her attacks in the corner Grey has an answer; scooping her onto her shoulders to deliver a DVD. Kiera defiantly gets up and delivers another nasty shot into Leila's midsection. It rockets her back into the corner where Hogan can plant her with a couple of running hip attacks. SPEAR by Grey! That looked ugly and violent too! She grabs the fan which she brings to ringside and tries to use it as a weapon...but Hogan ducks and hits Face The Music to win at 05:37

Rating - ** - These two absolutely busted their asses in this one. Even the commentators picked up on it - the match may not have been aesthetically pleasing or flawlessly executed but this really did feel like a hell of a battle. Their workrate was sky high as well, constantly moving forward full of energy, fight and vigour. 

Lexy Nair interviews Maria Kanellis, wanting to know what the opportunity she has for Griff Garrison is. Cole Karter (wearing an 'I heart Hot Moms' shirt) drags Griff into shot. Maria tells him she thinks he has 'raw potential' if only he surrounds himself with the right people

Not that I'm opposed to seeing Willie in action, but were there no female enhancement talents around that would have enabled Trish Adora to get involved here too? The Infantry enjoyed a brief upturn in fortune when they beat The Kingdom, but that has recently stalled and they now join forces with a veteran of the ring in an effort to get back to winning ways.

Jah starts with Carlie, but Dean soon joins his partner in the ring to send Jah-C packing after a couple of double-teams. Mack tangles with Matthews next, enjoying a significant size advantage and sending August flying through the air from a simple hiptoss. The Infantry start double-teaming Davey as well, feeding him into Willie's Sky High for 2. All six into the ring, and The Infantry's team hit a triple superkick. Boot Camp finishes of Bang, giving The Infantry a win at 03:03

Rating - N/A - A comprehensive squash. The Infantry are starting to get over, and they have good chemistry with Trish Adora. As I said in my introductory paragraph, this would have made far more sense with her actually competing (with a female enhancement talent on the opposition team - either as a six or eight person tag)

Lee Johnson says he is hungry for opportunity and is here to 'take over' ROH. He gets his chance when he faces Claudio tonight.

'Legit' Leyla is still unbeaten in ROH, and still pressing her claims for a title shot at Athena. Frost returned to ROH in a big way when she defeated Trish Adora a couple of weeks ago, but her momentum immediately stalled when she was crushed by Kiera Hogan last week. It would be a major rebound for her if she were to end Hirsch's streak.

No handshake here and these two seem pumped up to get right into battle. They fight ferociously over a lock-up, until Leyla's power comes to the fore and sees her slam Frost to the ground. Lady F tries to quicken the pace...only for Hirsch to kick the arm from under her when she tries a headstand! Maria Kanellis and Cole Karter watch from the apron as Hirsch starts dissecting Frost's arm. Lady F blocks the Fujiwara Armbar but is still being worn down with her arm wrenched at an unnatural angle. Frost throws kicks at Leyla now her arm is injured, then hits a ONE-ARMED HANDSPRING CANNONBALL for 2! Hirsch dodges a roundhouse kick though and dumps her with a capture suplex. Cross Armbreaker applied, and Frost submits at 04:07

Rating - ** - I really liked the chemistry these two had as opponents. Hirsch is fun as a compact juggernaut trying to plough through her opponents, whilst Frost is silky smooth in the ring with enough athleticism and speed to pose a problem. In four minutes they were really pushed for time though. That one incredible, arm-selling handspring spot from Frost offered a brief glimpse into the kind of fun they could have had telling a longer-form story if given more time in the ring together.

Maria and Cole make their way into the ring to congratulate Leyla on her victory...but Hirsch declines their handshake and walks away.

The Mad King is back from a Japanese tour which saw him compete in the G1 and defeat KENTA for the NJPW Strong Title, and is now teaming with Pure Champion (and New Japan veteran) Shibata. We know Eddie is still very much on the hunt for a World Title rematch against Claudio, and won't want to succumb to defeat in his comeback bout. Blake and Loco are familiar with each other as both partners and opponents and work a wildly different style to their opponents. That will make them tough foes for the veterans tonight.

Shibata and Blake get us started (obviously not reading the room as the crowd were loudly chanting for the other two!) and the Pure Champion quickly snares Christian in a Figure 4. Kobashi chops from Eddie leave Christian's chest bloody...and that is before Shibata steps back in and pummels him with yet more chops. He hits a handspring Pele Kick to rock Kingston and finally escape. Now the crowd get the Gringo/Eddie showdown they'd been waiting for and Loco takes the fight to the NPW Strong Champion from the get-go. He kicks King to the ground, setting the stage for a springboard 450 Splash from Blake for 2. Christian's frog splash gets knees though, allowing Eddie to make a crucial tag to Shibata. Hesitation dropkick rattles Christian's jaw and necessitates Gringo breaking the ensuing pinfall. He belts the Pure Champ out of the ring...but walks into the BACK FIST from Kingston! Blake double stomps Eddie out and runs into a MOONSAULT TO THE FLOOR! Shibata evades the Springboard 450, then counters the handspring Pele into the Sleeper Hold. PK nailed and Shibata pins Blake at 06:16

Rating - *** - Only finding six minutes for this really sucks. There were some really neat little match-ups in here, but nowhere near enough time to explore them in any detail. Watching someone like Gringo in the ring with Shibata and Eddie was really unique. Similarly seeing a young guy like Blake - who is stylistically so vastly different to Shibata - getting to go at it with the much-loved veteran was neat. The match was perfectly fine, but could've been special if they'd got another ten minutes or so - instead of the inconsequential filler bout it wound up being.

Josh Woods and Mark Sterling are interviewed next. Smart Mark rambles on with some ham-fisted sporting metaphors, and suggests Woods is 'down to fight' the best pure wrestlers in the world.

Your eyes aren't deceiving you, you are seeing the ROH World Champion actually wrestling on the ROH television show for the second time in three weeks. Perhaps this Proving Ground Match will last longer than the one minute he spent in the ring with Ryan Nemeth on Episode 26. He has even brought Wheeler Yuta with him in his corner this week.

Castagnoli hammers Johnson into the corner with uppercuts from the bell to quickly establish his dominance. Lee tries a moonsault...and when Double C catches him he converts to a swinging DDT instead. Another uppercut snuffs the comeback out though, followed by a lariat as Johnson desperately scrambles for flash pins in an attempt to escape with victory. MMA Elbows by Claudio, and Johnson is out. The ref wants to stop it...but Claudio grabs the arm to prevent his signal. Instead he delivers Swiss Death to win at 03:35

Rating - N/A - Another dominant display for the champion. It was funny a couple of weeks ago when it was Nemeth, but since Johnson is a guy whom Tony has brought to ROH to get more exposure and time in the ring it does him no favours getting steamrollered by Claudio like this.

We're in the Savage Sanctuary again, with Jacked Jameson accompanying his charges to get all his usual lines (which still aren't over) in. Konley is the more recognisable of the opposition having worked all over the US. It is his first ROH match since 2011 however.

I get the feeling we are rushed for time because the ref is visibly giving James the hurry up during his prolonged pre-match routine (greeted by total silence). The Savages manhandle Konley and send him packing, then finish Jones off with the electric chair stack splash at 01:21

Rating - N/A - This felt rushed even for a squash. I don't have a problem with that, although I also wouldn't have had a problem if it was cut altogether since other matches could've used the time this segment received and the 'Savage Sanctuary' gimmick isn't landing with me whatsoever.

Athena admonishes Billie for refusing to stomp Allysin earlier (whilst praising Lexy for wearing her 'Athena's Bestie' shirt). She then drags Starkz away for 'Minion Training'...

This is your main event, with the veteran Best Friends joining forces with popular up-and-comers Andretti and Martin. They face established duos The WorkHorsemen and The Outrunners - neither of whom have great records when it comes to winning matches on Honor Club.

The Outrunners and The WorkHorsemen don't even get entrances, and vent their frustration at that by ambushing all four opponents and beating them up on the floor. Trent is walloped into the crowd by Floyd and Henry, then quickly retrieved so they can all take turns working him over in the ring. Cannonball into a double stomp by The WorkHorsemen gets 2. Turbo forcibly tags Drake out much to JD's annoyance though, and in the aftermath of that loses control of Beretta. Darius hits a double DDT to clean house on The Outrunners. Dropkick/German combo by he and Andretti takes out Henry as well. Chuckie T arrives for a Sole Food/Half Nelson suplex combo to decimate Magnum. Strong Zero nailed, allowing Trent to pin Floyd at 04:48

Rating - ** - Four minutes of spots. Arguably a waste of some of the talents involved, but this is broadly the standard set by 2023 Ring Of Honor and it's chaotic mish-mash of filler and forgettable messes. It certainly wasn't boring, and the campy theatrics of The Outrunners felt far more at home in a silly Scramble like this than they have in more standard tag matches.

Tape Rating - * - More of the same from Honor Club TV. This wasn't the worst episode - but a decent nine-minute Athena match, a passable six minute tag bout carried in a large part by the name value of Shibata and Kingston alone and a glimmer of progression in a few storylines certainly doesn't make this a 'good' TV show by any means. The fact that they continue to get the lay-out of these episodes so horribly wrong even on a pre-taped product is just bizarre to me as well. Who the hell edited this episode and thought that inane, forgettable eight-man scramble was a better main event than Athena/Allysin or Shibata/Kingston vs Blake/Gringo? I assume there is a genuine reason for it (i.e. in a streamed product fewer people stay to the end or something so they do bigger matches earlier in the show for 'engagement' purposes?) but as an ROH fan who sits through every show it's just a lousy experience. When people slate this new ROH show as a crappy replacement for AEW Dark, episodes like this are the reason why.