 ROH World Tag Team Champion Mark Brisoce def. Tony NeseBriscoe has been feuding with The Varsity Athletes as of late. I couldn't care less about Varsity Athletes, but as I've always said, the team feels like a better fit in Ring of Honor than in AEW. This was an enjoyable, competitive opener from these two as Briscoe builds momentum heading into his ROH World Television Championship clash with Samoa Joe at Supercard of Honor. Speaking of Joe, his pre-taped promo to kick off the show was a nice touch. AR Fox, Blake Christian and Metalik def. The Trustbusters (Ari Daivari, Slim J and Jeeves Kay)It was heavily foreshadowed last week that Fox, Christian and Metalik were next in line for a shot at the ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Championship, so the outcome to this contest was a foregone conclusion. This had plenty of quality action the crowd was into it, but I personally found it difficult to care because Trustbusters are the epitome of a jobber faction. I would've rather seen this booked as a straight-up squash for the babyface trio. Skye Blue def. Lady FrostThis was Frost's second match in the new ROH and I feel like she'd be a nice fit for the women's division if she sticks around. Meanwhile, I always say how Blue has potential and she's certainly improved, but we've seen so much of her in AEW lately that seeing her pop up in ROH makes me feel like I'm watching Dark, especially when you consider that this had no storyline support and served zero purpose aside from killing time. Blue can only have so many matches before mic time is needed. La Faccion Ingobernable (Rush and Dralistico) def. "Hot Sauce" Tracy Williams and Rhett TitusRush, Williams and Titus were all killing it in ROH before the promotion was bought by AEW, so it was cool to see them mix it up here. Rush and Dralistico look to be a focal point in ROH's rebooted tag team division, so it was logical for them to emerge victorious here. This was shorter than I thought it would be, but they made the most of their time and worked an energetic sprint. Matt Taven def. Darius MartinThis was a part of the ongoing feud between The Kingdom and Top Flight. It was a well-worked match and the feud has been fine so far, but this was pretty paint-by-numbers stuff. Martin scored enough offense before losing that he won't be affected by the outcome, not to mention being outnumbered without Dante at ringside. We have since found out both teams will compete in the Reach for the Sky Ladder match for the ROH World Tag Team Championship at Supercard of Honor, which makes sense. ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Champion Brian Cage def. Tony DeppenCage is at his best when he's wrestling squash matches, but the problem is that these wins don't tend to mean much if they don't amount to anything. That's certainly been the case in AEW, but at least he's been more of a dominant force as part of The Embassy in ROH. This was a simple showcase for Cage before he and The Gates of Agony defend their tag titles against Fox, Christian and Metalik at Supercard of Honor. All signs point to that being Cage's final night with the company assuming he doesn't re-sign at the last minute. Shane Taylor def. Silas YoungIt was the battle of two former ROH World Television Champions. Both of these guys are great and they had the hard-hitting affair I was hoping for from them. They're both heels from what I could tell, but the crowd was still into the action because they're established. Taylor deserves a real run toward the top of the card and this win puts him on the right track. I'm glad ROH's old guard isn't being completely forgotten about. Billie Starkz def. Miranda AlizeIt was a big week for Starkz, who headlined Tuesday's edition of Dark against Toni Storm and that same night's edition of MLW Underground against Taya Valkyrie for the MLW World Women's Featherweight Championship. She lost both bouts but looked credible in defeat, not to mention how impressive of a feat that is for a high school student. While not entirely smooth, this was a nice match. I was slightly surprised Starkz won considering she isn't signed yet and Alize was rising in the ranks of the women's division before ROH shut down in 2021. Aussie Open def. Christopher Daniels and Matt SydalAs I've said before, I'm all for Daniels and Sydal reuniting and joining ROH's stacked tag team division. I'm happy Aussie Open are getting some exposure as well because from what I understand, they aren't being used much by New Japan Pro-Wrestling nowadays. This was a very enjoyable outing and a total blast. This was another surprising outcome, but I'm not complaining because it likely means we're getting more of Aussie Open in ROH for now. ROH World Television Champion Samoa Joe def. CheeseburgerThis was billed as an open challenge throughout the episode, but I believe it was already being advertised on social media. Regardless, it was a complete squash as it should have been. Joe is in his element when he's in total destruction mode killing dudes and thus I appreciated that this was exactly that. Mark Briscoe made the save for Cheeseburger afterward to further build toward himself against Joe for the Television title at Supercard of Honor. Overall ShowThe best part of this show was the sit-down interview with Caprice Coleman, Claudio Castagnoli and Eddie Kingston. That made their ROH World Championship match for Supercard of Honor official. Otherwise, this felt like the most AEW Dark edition of ROH TV yet. Most of these matches were not necessary so close to Supercard of Honor. It's shaping up to be a hell of a pay-per-view (which I'm almost positive I will be in attendance for) and I applaud the effort to put together the card on such short notice, but I can't stress enough that ROH TV would be better off as an hour-long program instead of two hours. There were just too many matches on this show with a lot of them blending together.
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