Ring of Honor Review - January 11, 2024

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Zak Knight def. Jon Cruz

Knight got his first "tryout" so to speak a few weeks ago and I thought he did really well. He was obviously impressive enough to be brought back for a second appearance, and again, he had a solid showing. My only nitpick is that Cruz scored as much offense as he did. I know neither guy is under contract to Ring of Honor/AEW at the moment (at least to my knowledge), but Knight should've been a bit more dominant.

Tony Nese def. Marcus Kross

I have no clue what Nese does now that his storyline with Ethan Page is over. Thankfully, Mark Sterling wasn't with him here, but it's still almost impossible to care about anything he's involved in, even though he's skilled in the ring. He's lost too many times for this sort of stuff to matter. This was the squash you'd expect it to be, but it definitely could've been a tad shorter seeing as how the outcome was never in doubt.

ROH World Television Champion Kyle Fletcher def. Angelico

ROH TV doesn't feature too many championship matches, which is why I'd prefer to see them saved for the main event slot. I knew there was no chance Angelico was taking the title here, but still, Fletcher feels more important than a majority of the current ROH roster because he's featured on AEW programming more often than not and should go on last as a result. These two worked well together and made the most of the time they had.

The Righteous def. The Dawsons

I remember seeing The Dawsons on those early episodes of NWA Powerrr back in late 2019. Weren't they managed by Eddie Kingston for a time? I totally forgot about them. At any rate, this was all about The Righteous and giving them another victory. I know Vincent alluded to it on Twitter recently, but I wish he had a chance to cut a promo boasting about being right about Adam Cole being up to something sinister months ago.

Iron Savages (Bronson and Boulder) def. The Boys

It was basically a battle of two enhancement tag teams. I like The Boys, but they can't be taken seriously. Meanwhile, Iron Savages are total goofs and also can't be taken seriously, either. In other words, this was pointless as I highly doubt we'll be seeing either team go after the tag titles in the foreseeable future. This was a match that existed, I'll say that much. On a near-two-hour show with 13 matches, this did not need to happen.

Cole Karter def. Serpentico

As I said last week, I have sub-zero interest in Karter and Griff Garrison feuding with Spanish Announce Project. What's hilarious is that Garrison faced Adam Copeland in what was easily the biggest match of his career last Saturday on Collision, and he clearly gained nothing from that performance because he was right back to being just another dude on ROH TV this week. This was a waste of time, even if it was designed to set up a tag team match I couldn't give two shits about seeing.

Queen Aminata def. Trish Adora, Diamante and Lady Frost in a Four-Corner Survival Match

These are all the women you can expect to be challenging for the ROH Women's World Television Championship once it's officially introduced. I could realistically see any of them becoming the inaugural champ. This was a well-worked four-way that also served as a showcase for the women's division. Fightful confirmed this week that Aminata has been signed to a deal by AEW/ROH, so her winning made the most sense.

Josh Woods def. LaBron Kozone

I'd much rather see Woods get a real chance to shine on his own than Nese, maybe because I've watched Nese be booked like a jobber for years dating back to his WWE days and Woods is a fresher face. Giving Woods an incredibly quick spotlight win here is a step in the right direction. He's already failed to win the ROH Pure Championship, but the ROH World Television Championship could be a viable option (when it isn't being held by another heel).

Taya Valkyrie def. Robyn Renegade

Valkyrie and Johnny TV determined during a backstage interview beforehand that the TV part of Johnny's ring name stands for Taya Valkyrie, which probably means he won't be changing his name anytime soon. Ugh. On the bright side, I continue to dig the two of them being an on-air act again. Renegade is a regular on ROH TV, so I was surprised this wasn't more competitive. However, I'm not complaining. This was a pretty basic bout.

Rachael Ellering and "Legit" Leyla Hirsch def. Brittany Jade and Emily Hale

It took some time for them to coexist in storyline, but Ellering and Hirsh have been gelling really well as partners so far. No, I don't want to see women's tag titles created so they have something to vie for as a tandem, but I am curious what the endgame is. This gave them a decisive win, but there was no significant development with their storyline on this show other than Abadon going out afterward. That was random.

Blake Christian def. Slim J, Jack Cartwheel and Gravity in a Four-Corner Survival Match

This served less of a purpose than the women's Four-Corner Survival match from earlier in the episode because at least those women will seemingly be involved in the crowning of a ROH Women's World Television Champion.  These guys, on the other hand, feel like the bottom of the barrel in ROH these days. The matchup had its moments, especially with all of the aerial stuff, but personally, this did nothing for me given the lack of stakes.

Christopher Daniels def. Lee Johnson

Daniels is at a stage in his career where he apparently isn't going to be a part of anything meaningful but can more than hold his own and the younger stars benefit from sharing the ring with him. He hasn't won in a while, so this gave him a credibility boost. Johnson probably should've won after winning last week's tag team main event, but I'm sure he'll rebound. 

Shane Taylor Promotions (Lee Moriarty and Shane Taylor) def. The Infantry in a 2-out-of-3 Falls Match

Giving this a two-out-of-three falls stipulation was unnecessary considering there isn't any bad blood between the two teams that I know of, not to mention that, similar to most two-out-of-three falls matches, the first two falls were rather forgettable. They could've just gotten more time, but it did end up being an enjoyable outing. The Infantry are a talented team, but Shane Taylor Promotions have the higher ceiling in my opinion and should be in line for a shot at the ROH World Tag Team Championship eventually.

Overall Show

ROH TV was under two hours this week, but that isn't really worth celebrating since the show should be only 60 minutes or so. Worse yet, there were 13 matches in total, which is overkill. None of them were bad by any means, but very little stands out when you have such a bloated card. That's been a recurring issue with ROH TV since the relaunch last year and this edition was no exception. The TV title match and the main event were the best of the bunch, but everything else can easily be skipped.

SEE MORE: ROH Reviews