Ring of Honor Review - January 16, 2019

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Zack Sabre Jr. def. Tracy Williams

Sabre had a hell of a debut for Ring of Honor back at Final Battle, and this was an equally entertaining showing from him. I believe this also marked Williams' first televised match on ROH TV and he impressed me in this match. They worked well together and I loved how hard-hitting and physical it was. Sabre going over was never in doubt, but I appreciated how Williams scored a decent amount of offense before losing.

Britt Baker and Madison Rayne def. The Twisted Sisters

These two tandems had a match a few weeks back that was won by The Twisted Sisters. This was a bit better from an in-ring standpoint, but the crowd was still fairly flat for it. It's interesting Baker scored the win for her team considering she has since signed with All Elite Wrestling and will be a part of their women's division going forward. The commentators teased that this feud may not be over yet, but I get the feeling it is based off Baker's decision to sign with another promotion instead of ROH.

ROH World Tag Team Champions The Briscoes def. SoCal Uncensored

I figured SCU was done after Final Battle, so it was cool they were given a final farewell and received their rightful rematch for the tag titles. Needless to say, it was extremely predictable that The Briscoes would retain their titles, but it was an enjoyable encounter while it lasted with some nice nearfealls down the stretch. This was a solid sendoff for Frankie Kazarian and Scorpio Sky and I'm looking forward to their run in AEW.

Villain Enterprises Attacked The Kingdom

Marty Scurll addressed how he earned a shot at the ROH World Championship by way of winning the Survival of the Fittest Tournament late last year, but before he could call out Jay Lethal, The Kingdom interrupted him. Matt Taven brought up how all of Scurll's Elite friends abandoned him, which led to Scrull introducing his new Villain Enterprises stable consisting of himself, Brody King and PCO. The crowd popped huge for both reveals, and although they don't seem to have the strongest chemistry on paper, this should be a fun storyline for Scurll to sink his teeth into before he inevitably leaves when his contract expires.

Overall Show

This was a pretty newsworthy show with the official debut of Villain Enterprises, SoCal Uncensored bowing out for good, The Briscoes successfully defending their tag titles, and Sabre making his ROH TV debut. All three matches were well-wrestled, making for a great edition of ROH TV on the whole. I'm excited to see where ROH will go in the new year with so many fresh faces on the roster and what other feuds will take shape in the coming weeks.