Ring of Honor Review - August 15, 2018

​By Graham "GSM" Matthews

ROH World Tag Team Champions The Briscoes def. The Bouncers (Non-Title)

Both of these tandems are heel, so while it was weird match on paper, they made it work since The Briscoes are beloved by most crowds, anyway. This was a nice little matchup that didn't last longer than it needed to, The Briscoes maintained their momentum with a win, and it was a good way to start the show. Plus, they brawled with SoCal Uncensored afterward, furthering that feud in the process.

Madison Rayne def. Karen Q, Tenille Dashwood and Kelly Klein in a ROH Women of Honor Championship No. 1 Contender's Four Corner Survival Match

These are four of the top stars in Ring of Honor's women's division, so I liked that there was genuine unpredictability surrounding the outcome. Plus, all four ladies worked well against each other and put together a very fun four-way. The final stretch or so was especially enjoyable. What's interesting is that half of this match (Karen and Rayne) will be taking part in the Mae Young Classic, so I assume Rayne's shot at the ROH Women of Honor Championship was taped prior to the MYC taping. Even still, that's pretty cool for Rayne.

NWA World Heavyweight Champion Nick Aldis Confronted Cody

Cody brought up during his promo that he was never given a one-on-one opportunity at the ROH World Championship, so perhaps he will demand a match with new champ Jay Lethal before long. I thought that was where this was headed before Aldis came out to hype up their upcoming contest at All In. It's awesome ROH is playing into those storylines instead of ignoring them, because they very easily could have since it isn't technically their show. Their verbal exchange was slightly disappointing at first before heating up at the end. With All In less than a month away, this was likely the final build for the bout, and if so, it left a little to be desired.

Shane Taylor, ROH World Television Champion Punishment Martinez and Bully Ray def. Cheeseburger, Josh "The Goods" Woods and Colt Cabana

Before the bout, Bully ambushed Flip Gordon, taking him out of the equation and (briefly) turning this into a 3-on-2 Handicap match. Martinez was a weird addition to the mix, but otherwise, this was entertaining for what it was. Cheeseburger and Woods should have had their butts handed to them easily, but they held out long enough for Cabana to join them (which frankly shouldn't have been legal) and even the odds. It wasn't enough, mind you, because the heels won regardless, but the crowd still went crazy for Cabana tagging in and coming close to victory.

Overall Show

This was a jam-packed edition of ROH TV that not only featured solid in-ring action (which is usually the case with these shows anyway) but also several storylines being progressed through meaningful matches and moments. A new No. 1 contender to the Women of Honor Championship was crowned, Cody vs. Aldis was hyped for All In, the Bully vs. Cabana saga was furthered (even though it's gone on forever by now), and The Briscoes and SoCal Uncensored interacted as well ahead of their All In encounter.