Ring of Honor Review - August 31, 2023

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

NJPW World Television Champion Zack Sabre Jr. def. Metalik

As I've said before, I'm all for Sabre appearing somewhat regularly on ROH TV and defending his title whenever he's around. There's almost no chance he'll drop it on ROH TV as opposed to a New Japan Pro-Wrestling event, but the matches are fun what they are. This was an enjoyable opener. I had completely forgotten about these two meeting in the semifinals of WWE's Cruiserweight Classic seven years ago (that long ago already?!) and it was cool that Sabre was finally able to avenge that loss to Metalik here.

Josh Woods def. John Walters

Walters is a Ring of Honor original and he initially returned in late 2020 when the ROH Pure Championship was brought back. I've actually spotted him as a judge for at least one of the recent ROH Pure Championship matches. With all of that said, he was a solid choice for Woods to beat as Woods seemingly works his way toward another opportunity at the Pure title (based on what Mark Sterling said in a backstage interview afterward). This was a well worked match.

Lee Moriarty and The Workhorsemen def. Invictus Khash, Lord Crewe and Beef

Moriarty and The Workhorsemen successfully teamed up on last week's episode as well, so this could end up being a permanent pairing. They have nice chemistry together, but I wish explained why they're teaming because it came out of nowhere. This gave them another win and further established them as a trio. I assume they'll be in line for a shot at the ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Championship eventually, even though both these guys and Mogul Embassy are heels.

Cole Karter def. Dustin Jackson

Karter continues to interact with Maria Kanellis-Bennett in backstage segments. Maria should probably stop wasting her time on Karter and instead shift her focus toward what the rest of The Kingdom is doing on Dynamite these days. This was another simple squash for Karter. There wasn't anything technically wrong with it other than it being boring. Karter continues to come off as generic and it's not like he's getting over.

Emi Sakura def. Alice Crowley

Sakura was just in action on Wednesday's Dynamite in a losing effort alongside Marina Shafir and Nyla Rose against Kris Statlander, Hikaru Shida and Britt Baker. She's obviously experienced, but giving her enhancement matches makes ROH TV feel more like Dark and Elevation than it already did. This was okay, but hopefully she's being built up to lose to someone to justify this match happening.

Spanish Announce Project (Angelico and Serpentico) def. The Outrunners

The Outrunners getting their own entrance was interesting. Could that mean they're signed to ROH deals or soon will be? They work well in the enhancement roles, but maybe they can be more of that if they start racking up wins. Truthfully, Spanish Announce Project are enhancement talent as well, so I couldn't have cared less who won here. The match itself was fine, but I fail to see what purpose this was supposed to serve.

Marina Shafir def. Angelica Risk

Although Shafir has improved this past year (which isn't saying a ton because she was pretty terrible), I can't say she's a strong addition to ROH's women's division. I'd much rather see fresh faces featured as opposed to holdovers from Dark (aside from a few exceptions like Diamante). We did not need a Shafir squash and a Sakura squash on the same show because they were essentially the same thing. This will also have been a waste of time if it doesn't amount to anything.

ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Champions Mogul Embassy (Brian Cage and The Gates of Agony) def. Lee Johnson, Darius Martin and Action Andretti

I could've sworn Martin and Andretti have challenged Mogul Embassy for the ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Championship before, but maybe they had a different partner last time. Either way, it's clear Mogul Embassy aren't dropping those belts any time soon, so these near-weekly title defenses feel pointless, especially when they're against the same opponents. This was a quality main event, but it was no different than most matches Mogul Embassy have had during this run.

Overall Show

I'm not at all shocked, but it's hilarious that we had new ROH World Tag Team Champions crowned in MJF and Adam Cole at All In last weekend and that wasn't even acknowledged on this episode. We're also getting Samoa Joe vs. Shane Taylor for the ROH World Television Championship at All Out this Sunday and I don't think that was brought up, either. ROH consists of championships that are props which are occasionally incorporated into AEW programming that's the sole reason the brand exists at this point, beyond serving as a developmental territory of sorts in the same way Elevation and Dark did. Sabre vs. Metalik was a treat, but everything else on this episode was completely inconsequential. Thankfully, this was was under an hour long and was a quick watch.

SEE MORE: ROH Reviews