Ring of Honor Review - December 19, 2024

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Lee Johnson def. Bishop Kaun

Johnson previously lost to Toa Liona, so it was logical for him to avenge that loss to the other half of The Gates of Agony here. They had a good opener. We know what Johnson can do, but it was cool to see Kaun showcased on his own for a change. EJ Nduka again prevented Gates of Agony from attacking Johnson afterward. It was announced later on that these teams will meet on the Final Battle Zero Hour pre-show.

Queen Aminata def. Lady Frost

Neither of these women will be wrestling at Final Battle to my knowledge (unless they're added to a random match at the last minute), so this was a match that just seemed to exist. Frost doesn't win many matches, but it was more important for Aminata to win since she's a more promising prospect. They had a well-wrestled affair, but I can't blame the crowd for being quiet since neither of them are over.

Murder Machines def. Iron Savages (Boulder and Bronson)

Murder Machines is the new team name for Brian Cage and Lance Archer, who are still with The Don Callis Family (Don Callis was actually with them at ringside). I'm all for them entering the tag team ranks and going after the ROH World Tag Team Championship, but that shouldn't come at the expense of the ROH World Television Championship, which Cage is still in possession of. They dominated Iron Savages here as they should have.

Serpentico def. Sidney Akeem

Akeem is the former Scrypts from WWE. He's been impressive on the independent scene since leaving WWE from what I've seen, specifically in GCW. He's always been super acrobatic, so he was a nice opponent for Serpentico here. Serpentico winning with a basic senton felt anticlimactic, but otherwise, this was a quality contest. Of course, it felt out of place on a Final Battle go-home show since neither of them are on the card as of now.

ROH Women's World Champion Athena and Billie Starkz def. Blair Onyx and Missa Kate

This match probably should have happened before Starkz blew up at Athena and challenged her to a ROH Women's World Championship match at Final Battle. I know Athena thinks it's all a ruse and that they're still pals, but it was silly for Starkz to agree to team with her. I would have rather seen them have a heated confrontation or back-and-forth on the mic than attempt to coexist. The match was whatever, but at least Starkz ruined Athena's title belt afterward before brawling with her.

Shane Taylor Promotions (ROH Pure Champion Lee Moriarty and Shane Taylor) and NJPW Strong Openweight Tag Team Champions Grizzled Young Veterans def. The Undisputed Kingdom (Mike Bennett and Matt Taven) and The Dark Order (Evil Uno and Alex Reynolds)

I believe Undisputed Kingdom will be facing Shane Taylor Promotions' The Infantry at Final Battle while Dark Order battle Grizzled Young Veterans, both on the Zero Hour pre-show. This served as a solid preview of both bouts and had some fun action. The finish felt a bit abrupt, but I appreciated that this continued the trend of main events with some star power on ROH TV. That hasn't been the case in a very long time.

Overall Show

Fittingly, this week's throwback match was last year's Final Battle main event between Athena and Starkz. Additionally, we saw The Righteous going to what I think was Dustin Rhodes' wrestling school and attacking him, Lee Moriarty issuing an open challenge for his ROH Pure Championship at Final Battle, Chris Jericho addressing Matt Cardona in his car, and Ian Riccaboni hosting a great sit-down interview with QT Marshall and Jay Lethal that made their match at Final Battle more meaningful. The near-two-hour runtime was a drag, but this was an effective go-home show for Final Battle on the whole.

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