Ring of Honor Review - August 15, 2025

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

ROH World Television Champion Nick Wayne def. Willie Mack

I wish this got a bit more build than only being announced a day before on ROH TV, but at least Mack earned this opportunity by beating Gringo Loco on Thursday night (even though it wasn't officially billed as a number one contender's match). There's no reason for Wayne to be Television champ at this point now that he's feuding with Christian Cage, but I didn't expect him to lose it here. This was a good match, but it would've made more sense as the main event.

The Outrunners and AR Fox def. Shane Taylor Promotions (The Infantry and Shane Taylor)

The Outrunners are obviously a popular tandem, but I'd rather see them building momentum on their own as opposed to teaming with Fox unnecessarily. Having them beat Shane Taylor Promotions was questionable since the six-man tag team division (or what's left of it) could use more legitimate teams, and losing does them no favors. As a match, however, this was well wrestled.

Jay Lethal def. Alex Zayne

Lethal has been utilized as an enhancement guy for so long (including in Ring of Honor) that it's gotten difficult to take him seriously, especially when there clearly aren't any plans in place for him. That said, his matches always deliver and this was no exception, even though it was on the shorter side. I'm surprised Zayne isn't more of a regular on ROH TV these days.

QT Marshall def. The OXP

OXP said in his pre-match verbal exchange with Marshall that he's a former Cobra Kai star. I've never seen the show, so I wasn't familiar with him, but I thought he was impressive before eating defeat to Marshall here. Paul Walter Hauser made the save afterward, all but confirming he'll be facing Marshall at Death Before Dishonor. I enjoyed Marshall vs. Big Boom! A.J. at Full Gear last year, but I can't say I have the same level in interest in Marshall vs. Hauser (who has been pretty abysmal in MLW).

Billie Starkz def. Allysin Kay

Kay has been around forever and is a useful occasional utility player for ROH. Keeping Starkz somewhat relevant with wins is smart, especially if she's going to continue appearing on AEW TV alongside Athena, but I do question what the endgame of their alliance is supposed to be. Starkz already lost to Athena twice at Final Battle and I honestly don't care to see that for a third time. This served its purpose, if nothing else.

Blake Christian and Lee Johnson def. Tom La Ruffa and BEEF

It's so strange that on the same show Christian and Johnson announced their intentions, they'd lose to two CMLL guys in the main event. What was the point of that? They won this week, which is a step in the right direction for them. The match essentially served as a showcase for them. Fun fact: La Ruffa used to be Sylvester Laefort from WWE NXT over a decade ago.

Marina Shafir def. Marti Belle

Shafir has been all over AEW TV for the last year with the rest of The Death Riders, but she primarily wrestles on ROH TV over Dynamite and Collision. I can't remember the last time she lost, so in storyline, she should have earned a championship opportunity by now, but I'm not complaining that hasn't happened yet because I still find her fairly boring. The best thing I can say about this is that it was rather brief.

The Workhorsemen and Adam Priest def. Ryan Zukko, Joe Keys and Josh Fuller

I appreciated that there was a backstage segment explaining why The Workhorsemen and Priest were teaming up. If they're going to be a trio going forward, I have no issue with it. It's not like there's many other trios that can go after the ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Championship, anyway. This gave them their first win together and it appears their first feud will be with The Dark Order considering Dark Order made the save afterward.

Hechicero def. Jordan Oliver

Oliver is a regular on the northeast independent scene and has also appeared for MLW and GCW. This was touted as his ROH TV debut, but this was all about Hechicero as it should have been given he'll be challenging for the ROH World Championship at Death Before Dishonor. Much like on Thursday's ROH TV, Bandido once again ran out afterward to fend off Hechicero.

Mascara Dorada and Neon def. Premier Athletes (Tony Nese and Ariya Daivari)

This was shockingly advertised in advance with a backstage promo Premier Athletes cut on ROH TV Thursday night. It feels like CMLL stars never win when it matters most on AEW TV, but you can't say they're not showcased on ROH TV. This was another victory for the CMLL crew in what was a well-worked main event. Sure, beating Premier Athletes means nothing, but that double finisher from Dorada and Neon looked awesome and the crowd was into them.

Overall Show

I would love to know why these random Friday editions of ROH TV exist during weeks where there's already an episode on Thursday. Were too many matches taped and this is their way of catching up? What's funny is that this was significantly longer than your ordinary edition of ROH TV at over an hour and a half, and of course, most of it was inconsequential. The action was adequate, but the show would've been stronger if there weren't so many damn squashes.

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