Ring of Honor Review - March 14, 2024

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Billie Starkz def. Diamante in an ROH Women's World Championship Tournament Quarterfinal Match

The renewed focus on Diamante in Ring of Honor's women's division has been awesome to see because she was underutilized for so long. This was a very competitive, very good match that received an ample amount of time. Starkz winning was never in doubt because she feels like the favorite to become the inaugural champion, but I'm glad Diamante was made to look credible in defeat. A strong way to start the show.

Lee Johnson def. Aaron Solo

I completely forgot that these two were both in The Factory together. That's how terrible and forgettable that faction was. Solo is back to pulling enhancement duty while Johnson is on the rise in ROH, at least until he inevitably unsuccessfully challenges for the ROH World Television Championship. Still, I'm enjoying his mini push in the meantime. This was a solid outing to get Johnson one step closer to that opportunity.

Kiera Hogan de. Robyn Renegade, "Legit" Leyla Hirsch and Lady Frost in a Four-Corner Survival Match

I've seen too many of these Four-Corner Survival matches on ROH TV in the past few months for them to matter at this point, regardless of whether it's the men or the women. There's simply no reason for them to exist other than to get as many people on the show as possible, though at least this featured women who have been eliminated from the ROH Women's World Championship Tournament (except for Frost, who I don't think took part in it). This was a well-worked four-way, but if it doesn't amount to anything for Hogan, then it was a waste of time.

ROH Women's World Champion Athena def. Aisha in an ROH Women's World Championship Proving Ground Match

Anyone who's been watching ROH TV regularly for the last year is aware that we saw Athena in action almost every week in 2023 and a majority of those Proving Ground matches were exactly the same. I'm glad they got away from that because I was sick of seeing those squashes for a while. Having a significant size advantage over Athena, Aisha actually gave her quite the fight before losing, so I appreciate the change of pace. Hikaru Shida emerged afterward, so she'll challenge Athena for the ROH Women's World Championship at Supercard of Honor. That came out of nowhere, but I have no doubt it'll deliver.

Top Flight and Action Andretti def. Iron Savages (Bronson, Boulder and Jacked Jameson)

If this is the best ROH's six-man tag team division has to offer, it's better off being scrapped all together. Top Flight and Andretti are always a blast to watch (other than Andretti's awful "hydration" bit), but Iron Savages' act is unsufferable. They're also incredibly overexposed on this show. This was an average outing made more bearable by the babyfaces' exciting offense. They'll face Roderick Strong, Matt Taven and Mike Bennett on Friday's Rampage.

The Workhorsemen def. Jacoby Watts and Nick Comoroto

The Workhorsemen are a talented team, but as I've said several times before, they never win when it matters most, so it's almost impossible to take them seriously. They beat a team that isn't actually a team here, but will it put them in contention for the ROH World Tag Team Championship (that I don't think The Undisputed Kingdom have defended a single time since winning them)? Probably not. This felt more like it happened to tease something with Comoroto and Watts, oddly enough. There was nothing wrong with this technically, but it came off like total throwaway.

Lance Archer def. Darian Bengston

Archer has been announced as facing Claudio Castagnoli on Saturday's Collision, so this was meant to give him a rare win before then. I've been an Archer fan since he came into AEW, but he's long been just another dude on the roster. This was basically every Archer squash you've ever seen. The best thing I can say about it is that it was kept short and sweet. On a side note, Jake Roberts was at ringside, but there's never any consistency behind his appearances.

Merecedes Martinez def. Abadon in an ROH Women's World Championship Tournament Quarterfinal Match

Abadon hasn't lost too many matches over the years (only ever when championships are on the line), so I was surprised Martinez advanced. However, I'm happy she did. Abadon was protected in defeat via Diamante's interference, so I assume they'll feud once Martinez loses in the next round. Abadon's matches largely do nothing for me, but this was decent enough for the time it was allotted.

AAA Cruiserweight Champion Komander def. Slim J, AR Fox and Jack Cartwheel in a Four-Corner Survival Match (Non-Title)

This Four-Corner Survival match was even more pointless than the one we got earlier because at least most of those women are on the show weekly and have been involved in notable stuff. These guys, on the other hand, only ever have spot-fests on this show and nothing else. Sure, it was fun for what it was, but I feel like I've seen this same match a million times on this show in recent months. The only thing I'll remember from this was that stupid spot with Cartwheel and Komander on the outside.

Orange Cassidy and Trent Beretta def. Cole Karter and Griff Garrison

Cassidy and Beretta will take on The Dark Order on Friday's Rampage in what will be a preview of the AEW World Tag Team Championship Tournament, so needless to say, it was pretty predictable they would win here as they should have. It's also why it didn't feel like much of a main event because ​Karter and Garrison are glorified jobbers on this show. It was well wrested but hardly interesting. Spanish Announce Project attacked Karter and Garrison afterward to further that feud.

Overall Show

Was it really necessary for ROH TV to go back to being two hours this week? I immediately sighed as soon as I saw that. The one-hour format is much more efficient. There was some quality wrestling throughout, but this would've been a much stronger show without all of the meaningless matches. On the bright side, we now know that it will be Eddie Kingston vs. Mark Briscoe for the ROH World Championship at Supercard of Honor as well as Athena vs. Shida for the ROH Women's World Championship, so I'm looking forward to both of those bouts.

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