Ring of Honor Review - January 23, 2025

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

ROH World Television Champion Komander def. QT Marshall

Marshall earned this opportunity by outlasting Komander in a Proving Ground match a few weeks ago. This probably should have served as the main event since it was easily the most important thing on the entire episode, but oh well. It made for a fun opener, if nothing else. I know I've dunked quite a bit on Marshall in the past, but he's been playing his role really well since returning to the ring late last year. This was another quality contest from him. Lee Johnson emerged afterward to stare down Komander, who he'll fight in a Proving Ground match next week.

Leila Grey def. Marti Belle

Grey is still associated with Top Flight, but I'm not sure why. They're total losers at this point, but then again, perhaps that's her best bet of being featured on AEW TV in any capacity. She's getting reps on ROH TV and is gradually improving, so there's that. This was designed to give her a victory before she challenges Red Velvet for the ROH Women's World Television Championship on next week's episode.

The Outrunners def. Rosario Grillo and Jon Cruz

With the way Private Party's anticlimactic reign as AEW World Tag Team Champions came to an end on Wednesday's Dynamite, I'm more convinced than ever that they were going to be the ones to beat The Young Bucks for the AEW World Tag Team Championship a few months ago before plans changed. I'm glad Private Party got their moment, but the aftermath was abysmal. At any rate, The Outrunners would be the perfect candidates to eventually win the ROH World Tag Team Championship and this got them one step closer to that.

The Beast Mortos def. Lord Crewe

I mentioned a week or two ago how Mortos went winless in the latest Continental Classic and now has to resort to wrestling on ROH TV to rebuild his credibility. This was the second squash we've seen him in and he once again won with ease as he should have. The best thing about it was that it was kept short and sweet. Don't get me wrong, I like Mortos and I have since his TNA days, but it is odd he gets more television time than most when he's largely booked like a stepping stone.

Taya Valkyrie def. Lady Frost

As I've said before, it's really unfortunate that Tony Khan has done absolutely nothing with The Vendetta in either AEW or Ring of Honor. They'll win meaningless matches like this but never when it matters most. Both Valkyrie and Frost are talented, so this was a well-worked bout, but the crowd sat on their hands for a majority it and clearly did not care. In other words, this accomplished nothing.

The Gates of Agony def. Jay Lucas and Terry Yaki

Gates of Agony are advertised to face Brody King and Buddy Matthews on Saturday's Collision, so this was essentially a warm-up of sorts for them before then. I appreciated that they got the vignette treatment on last week's Collision, but there's virtually zero chance they're winning that match. The face turn has been a refreshing change of pace for them, though. This was a standard showcase for the dominant duo.

Katsuyori Shibata def. Shane Taylor

This was a rather random main event, especially since there wasn't anything on the line, but at least it had some star power by ROH standards. It was the hard-hitting affair you'd expect from them. Shane Taylor Promotions attacked Shibata afterward and were fended off by Daniel Garcia, Adam Cole, Kyle O'Reilly and Roderick Strong (none of whom got much of a reaction, which was depressing). We also found out in the show's closing moments that Konosuke Takeshita will defend the AEW International Championship against Shibata on Saturday's Collision.

Overall Show

Obviously, there have been far more than 100 editions of ROH TV over the years, but this was merely the 100th edition to air on Honor Club, and it was hardly what I'd call a special show. The last 60 seconds or so were more memorable than anything else I've seen on this show in a month or two, but the rest of the show (aside from the enjoyable opener) was a waste of time and an indictment on the sad state of the brand.

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