Ring of Honor Review - July 19, 2021

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Rey Horus def. Fred Yehi

Yehi isn't signed to Ring of Honor as far as I know, which would explain why he seems to lose more often than he wins. That said, he makes the most of every opportunity he has and always has fun matches. This was no exception and having an equally talented opponent in Horus obviously helped. I don't think there was any storyline reason for this, but it did serve to give Horus another win after beating Demonic Flamita at Best in the World. I assume he'll be entering contention for a championship soon.

Mandy Leon def. Quinn McKay

The sit-down interviews that aired with both women beforehand were excellent and I loved how McKay brought up the similarities between herself and Leon. I can't say I've ever seen an above-average Mandy Leon match, and McKay is still inexperienced, but this told a great story with McKay being a terrific babyface and fighting from underneath. Had she won, she would have been entered into the upcoming ROH Women's Championship Tournament, but no such luck. I'm sure she'll give The Allure their comeuppance eventually, but this was another commendable performance from her.

Shane Taylor Promotions (Shane Taylor, O'Shay Edwards and Soldiers of Savagery) def. Joe Keys and The Foundation (Jay Lethal and ROH World Tag Team Champions Tracy Williams and Rhett Titus)

I had no idea Edwards was now a member of Shane Taylor Promotions. I'm honestly not too familiar with his work because I don't watch the Week By Week show and ROH's other online content, but I thought he was impressive here. Keys was a random partner for The Foundation, filling in for Jonathan Gresham, but he also fared well. This was an entertaining main event that was complete chaos from bell to bell, so it was never boring. The Foundation never cease to deliver and Shane Taylor Promotions are becoming a top-tier faction as well. The outcome surprised me and left me wondering if we'll be seeing more between these two stables or this was it considering this was taped well before Best in the World (hence why Williams was in action here and why The Foundations were still the ROH World Tag Team Champions).

Overall Show

As noted, this was one of the shows taped prior to the pay-per-view, yet it didn't feel like filler. The main event is certainly worth checking out, Yehi vs. Horus was a well-wrestled opener, and Leon and McKay did a really nice job with their segment from an in-ring standpoint and more specifically from a promo standpoint. It was an enjoyable hour of wrestling, but I'm ready to see the fallout from Best in the World. Sledge vs. PCO and Eli Isom vs. Dak Draper vs. Dalton Castle in a three-way were both advertised for next week.

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