Ring of Honor Review - December 7, 2023

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Billie Starkz def. Dani Mo

The commentators mentioned that these two have been up and down the road together, which I thought was a nice touch. The match was exactly what it needed to be in that it was a quick showcase for Starkz before she challenges Athena for the ROH Women's World Championship at Final Battle. Speaking of Athena, she brawled with Starkz afterward and stood tall in the end, leaving me to think we're getting a title change at Final Battle.

Dalton Castle def. Johnny TV

QT Marshall announcing his upcoming departure from AEW last week means that QTV is no more, meaning there's zero reason for John Hennigan to continue going by the Johnny TV name. Hopefully it doesn't last much longer. Ring of Honor is probably the best place for him at this point because he'd surely be lost in the shuffle in AEW. Despite his wife Taya Valkyrie coming to his aid at ringside here, he still lost. I'd definitely pair them up on the show because it's not like Valkyrie has anything else of note going on at the moment. This was a good match.

Rachael Ellering def. Nikki Victory

Ellering still isn't over (and I understand that can be said for a majority of the ROH roster because these shows are typically taped in front of dead crowds), but getting her on the show regularly has helped at least. This was a straightforward squash to give Ellering a win and further her momentum. Maria Kanellis-Bennett and Leyla Hirsch were in her corner, but they weren't all on the same page in a backstage segment later on.

The Workhorsemen def. The Infantry

As I've said before, these tag team matches mean nothing when there's nothing for them to fight for at the moment. Hell, the ROH World Tag Team Championship isn't even being defended on AEW TV for now because both of the champions are injured. That said, this was a fun little sprint. The Workhorsemen rarely win, so it was cool that they went over here, even though I don't expect this to amount to anything for them.

Lady Frost and Trish Adora def. The Renegades

Frost and Adora are a random duo and I wish there was an explanation for why they teamed up here. That said, they worked well as partners here and even beat an actual team in The Renegades. It was a nice match, but I guess I question what purpose it was supposed to serve, unless Frost and Adora are going to branch off into their own storyline. I'm all for Tony Khan booking more women's matches, but a lot of them on ROH TV exist for the sake of existing.

Lee Johnson def. Josh Woods to Qualify for the ROH World Television Championship Survival of the Fittest Match at Final Battle

I fully expected Woods to win given how many matches he's won this year, especially now that he's aligned with Mark Sterling and has been a permanent fixture on ROH TV. I'm not complaining about Johnson advancing instead, but I don't at all see him walking out with the title as he's been in the same spot for cards for years. The match itself was solid stuff.

The Righteous def. The Outrunners

The Outrunners just wrestled on Tuesday's edition of NWA Powerrr, so they're still not under an exclusive deal to any one company as of now. They served their roles well here, but this was all about The Righteous as it should have been. I'm bummed that they haven't had much to do since failing to capture the tag titles at WrestleDream, not to mention that their alliance with Lance Archer lasted all of one week.

Lee Moriarty def. "Hot Sauce" Tracy Williams to Qualify for the ROH World Television Championship Survival of the Fittest Match at Final Battle

It's no secret how talented both of these guys, so unsurprisingly, this was very well wrestled. Williams has consistently been booked like an enhancement guy since ROH's relaunch (I honestly can't recall a single match he's won), so the outcome was never in question. Meanwhile, I've been digging the pairing of Moriarty and Shane Taylor, so I'm glad Moriarty will be in action at Final Battle while Taylor faces Keith Lee.

The Butcher and The Blade def. The Boys

Like a lot of people on the ROH roster, Butcher and Blade being in ROH is the only way they're going to get any television time, so having them embark on a winning streak is smart. I doubt they'll challenge for the ROH World Tag Team Championship anytime soon with the current champs never appearing on the program, but winning in the meantime doesn't hurt. This lasted a little longer than it probably needed to, but at least Butcher and Blade went over decisively as they should have.

Angelico def. Christopher Daniels

I just mentioned last week that I was disappointed (but not shocked) by Angelico's singles push being short-lived, but it must be continuing if he beat Daniels here. It wasn't overly exciting or anything, but they had a quality contest. Randomly enough, Orange Cassidy and Danhausen made the save for Daniels afterward. Best Friends' entrance music played, so I have to imagine that's because Cassidy's theme can't be played on a streaming service such as HonorClub (that was the case for Ronda Rousey a few weeks ago as well).

"All Ego" Ethan Page and Tony Nese Signed the Contract for Their "I Quit" Match at Final Battle

I'm amazed that Tony Khan actually appeared to serve as the moderator for this contract signing. Him being there didn't make much of a difference, but you'd think he would've put Jerry Lynn or Stokley Hathaway out there. Nonetheless, this was well done with both Page and Woods shining on the mic. Kudos to them as they successfully made me care about their upcoming "I Quit" match. Page should be walking out of Final Battle the new ROH World Television Champion, but it looks like they're taking their time with that.

Kyle Fletcher def. Gravity to Qualify for the ROH World Television Championship Survival of the Fittest Match at Final Battle

Gravity is an excellent athlete, but Fletcher is easily the bigger star and made more sense to move on to Final Battle. Fletcher has been making the most of the singles spotlight he's had in the absence of his injured tag team partner Mark Davis, so he's a strong addition to that Survival of the Fittest match. These two didn't have a ton of time, but what we got was entertaining and competitive.

Overall Show

By ROH TV standards, this was a slightly-above-average episode, but I can't stress enough how unnecessary it is for the show to be two hours long. Sixty minutes would suffice, but apparently Tony Khan can't help himself and feels the need to cram as many matches onto these episodes as possible, even if half of them are filler and accomplish nothing. On the bright side, three more names were added to the ROH World Television Championship Survival of the Fittest field and Page vs. Nese was made official for the event along with a six-man tag  team match pitting Blackpool Combat Club against FTR and Mark Briscoe. That latter matchup has no storyline significance, but it should be great and I'm looking forward to Bryan Danielson returning to ROH for a one-off.

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