Ring of Honor Review - April 30, 2026

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Konosuke Takeshita def. "Daddy Magic" Matt Menard

Is it bad that I wanted Takeshita to destroy Mernard as soon as I saw this was announced? Nothing against Menard, who does well in his role as an analyst on AEW's pay-per-view pre-shows, but I couldn't care less about any of his matches. I have no idea what happened to him teaming with Angelo Parker. At any rate, this was a decent opener to give Takeshita a victory.

ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Champion Shane Taylor def. Mance Warner

Warner recently quit TNA along with his wife Steph De Lander, so he's a free agent once again. He actually once wrestled for AEW on Rampage if I'm not mistaken, but he's a better fit on this brand. We'll see if he gets signed to a deal. This was almost like a tryout for him and I thought he did well in what was a solid match. Taylor was a smart choice as an opponent for him considering he's a measuring stick of sorts.

Stori Denali def. Jacey Love

Denali is typically relegated to six-person tag team matches, so it was refreshing to see her on her own for a change. Granted, she's clearly not ready for anything super significant in singles competition, but she won't improve until she gets more opportunities like this. It was your standard squash where she was made to look dominant, which should be the goal with her for right now.

Lio Rush def. Alan Angels

Rush continues to be a weird, wacky dude. He's been getting more television time on Dynamite and Collision as of note, so the company is clearly getting behind it. Whether it works in the long run remains to be seen, but I'm all for him getting a chance to show what he can do with this new character (even if it isn't my cup of tea, personally). I don't believe Angels is under contract to the company, but at least Rush beat a familiar face as opposed to your average jobber.

ROH Women's Pure Champion Deonna Purrazzo def. Remi Reade in an ROH Women's Pure Championship Proving Ground Match

We now know that Purrazzo will defend the ROH Women's Pure Championship against Diamante at Supercard of Honor. It's pretty cool that Diamante will be involved in a title match on pay-per-view for what might be the first time ever. It's a part of Purrazzo's program with Athena's "minions" after beating Billie Starkz at one point. This was a run-of-the-mill Proving Ground match with Purrazzo winning decisively.

Top Flight def. Gringo Loco and Soleil

Top Flight have always been a talented team who are fun to watch, but it's wild to me that they have yet to hold gold of any kind, especially the ROH World Tag Team Championship. Instead, they've been spinning their wheels for what feels like forever. If nothing else, this was a nice little sprint, but as I say about the other tag team matches we tend to get on this show, it means nothing if this win for Top Flight doesn't lead anywhere.

The IInspiraton def. B3CCA and Madi Maxx

I've said it before, but the booking of The IInspiration has been bizarre thus far. They were only on AEW TV for a week or two before being banished to Ring of Honor, where they haven't had much momentum. This match existed to give them a win and that's about it. B3CCA got some shine against Kris Statlander on Collision recently, but she was total fodder here.

Viva Van def. Sara Leon

I'm shocked Van finally won a match. I've been saying for some time now that she needed to start racking up wins in order to be taken seriously, so this was certainly a step in the right direction. I don't know where she's headed, of course, but hey, I'll take what I can get for now. The match itself wasn't anything special, but I'm glad it was a decisive victory for Van and not a competitive contest.

Paid In Full def. Vin Parker and Nick Halen

Big Bill and Bryan Keith work well together, but even with the new team name, I still largely associate them with Chris Jericho's Learning Tree nonsense that never got a proper payoff. I'd love to see them show up on Dynamite and Collision one of these weeks and attempt to get revenge, but I guess that's too much to ask for. At least they dominated these two dudes.

Christyan XO def. Frankie B

Christyan XO is a member of Shane Taylor Promotions, but we rarely see her wrestle. In fact, this may have been her first singles match on ROH TV. I don't remember. Either way, I thought she did perfectly fine. Giving her reps is the only way she's going to improve. Currently, she pales in comparison to the rest of the women who regularly wrestle on the brand, but she has to start somewhere.

The Don Callis Family (Mark Davis and RPG Vice) def. TMDK (Bad Dude Tito, Mikey Nicholls and Shane Haste)

I don't understand the point of giving The Don Callis Family much television time in ROH if they're primarily an AEW faction. I get that Davis and RPG Vice are basically the B-team of The Don Callis Family, but it seems like it's a spot that could go to some other people who never show up in AEW. Regardless, this was a well-worked six-man tag team main event with the expected outcome.

Overall Show

Talk about a marathon episode. Good lord. Thankfully, it wasn't two hours, but it sure as hell felt like it with all of the enhancement matches we got. It doesn't help that ROH TV is being taped in that Jacksonville venue that lacks energy, and I don't necessarily blame the fans in attendance either since it's not as if there's a ton for them to get excited about. This edition of ROH TV got us closer to Supercard of Honor, but the build has left a lot to be desired so far.

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