Ring of Honor Review - April 12, 2017

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Punishment Martinez def. Hanson

It was high time Martinez turned on Kevin Sullivan and BJ Whitmer because he has a ton of potential to be a breakout singles star. I'm glad he was afforded the opportunity to shine on his own here and he had an excellent outing against the established Hanson. In a battle between big men, these two should not be physically capable doing half the stuff that is in their arsenal, which is why both of them are extremely impressive athletes. I also liked how this wasn't a completely random match considering Martinez and Whitmer beat War Machine last month on ROH TV. I wish Martinez would have won clean, but the distraction from Davey Boy Smith Jr. made sense given their recent rivalry.

john Skyler def. Curt Stallion in a Top Prospect Tournament Semifinal Match

The crowd was understandably quiet during the other semifinal match taped at Manhattan Mayhem, but they we were way livelier for this matchup. It might have occurred earlier in the evening, but I'd also argue that it was just a better bout all-around and the two worked well together. Skyler was an aggressive a-hole while Stallion was very likable as the babyface working from underneath. This turned into a very fun match in the second half and Skyler was the right choice to advance.

Bully Ray and The Briscoes def. The Kingdom and Silas Young to Win the ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Championship

For those who missed it, TK O'Ryan took a nasty bump at last month's 15th Anniversary Show and is now out injured for the foreseeable future. Thus, The Kingdom enlisted Young to help them defend the titles here, though I don't think he will officially recognized as having held the title. This is where ROH airing content out of order comes back to bite them because Bully and The Briscoes already defended the straps at last week's Supercard of Honor event. As a match, though, this was entertaining and everyone played their roles well. The tension between The Kingdom and Young was expected, and although Bully and The Briscoes are a good fit as champions, I feel bad for The Kingdom (especially Matt Taven) to have their big break get cut short.

Overall Show

From an in-ring standpoint, this was an enjoyable edition of ROH TV featuring a notable title defense in the main event, even if it's fairly outdated by this point. The rest of the hour had the continuation of the Top Prospect Tournament and a nice showcase from Martinez, so this was a solid show from start to finish. Next week's Wild Card match should be a treat, so I look forward to that.