Ring of Honor Review - March 5, 2026

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Persephone def. Sara Leon

This was the same story as every other squash match Persephone has had on ROH TV so far this year. She dominated Leon as she should have, though this lasted a little longer than it probably needed to. I'm all for building her up, but I'd like to see her do something of significance at some point instead of continuing to spin her wheels, whether that's in Ring of Honor or in AEW.

Komander def. Sidney Akeem

This was the type of spot-fest we've come to expect from many of Akeem's matches. As I've said before, he's a nice fit for ROH, but I'm still not sure whether he's signed to a contract or not. If not, then his matches become a lot more predictable, but I'll take this over Komander facing Premier Athletes again. It was a fun little sprint that gave Komander another victory.

Top Flight def. Grizzled Young Veterans

This was a good battle between two talented teams in ROH's tag ranks. Grizzled Young Veterans getting television time across AEW and ROH in recent months has been refreshing, but it's not like they're being booked as any sort of threat. Despite that, this was a quality contest. SkyFlight may not be able to get beyond a certain level as a trio, but I see no reason why Top Flight can't be ROH World Tag Team Champions eventually.

Paid in Full def. Darian Bengston and Kiran Grey

Paid in Full is the new team name for Big Bill and Bryan Keith. I guess this means they'll be sticking together as a tandem for the foreseeable future. Don't get me wrong, they have solid chemistry, but I'd rather see go back to being singles stars. Then again, they'd probably get lost in the shuffle if that were the case, so perhaps this is for the best. They decimated these dudes in short order.

Josh Woods def. Nathan Cruz in a Pure Rules Match

Woods hadn't been in action on ROH TV since December. He's a fine fit for the Pure Rules division, but I feel like he's always been exclusive to that division, so these matches are only so interesting. I imagine he'll get another opportunity at the ROH Pure Championship in the near future, and when he inevitably loses, I'm curious what he'll move onto then, if anything.

"Dynamite Kid" Tommy Billington and Adam Priest def. The Workhorsemen

This was a well-worked bout between two hard-hitting teams. Billington and Priest have gotten a push as part of their program with The Swirl (following the many matches they had with FTR last year) and I'm glad that push isn't over yet even though they were betrayed by Jay Lethal. It also helps that they beat an actual team under contract here and not a pair of "local athletes."

Mina Shirakawa def. Zayda Steel

Steel has lost almost every match she's had so far since joining AEW and ROH, but Shirakawa loses almost every match she has in AEW, so you could argue this could have gone either way. That said, Shirakawa does tend to win the meaningless matches in ROH, so I figured she'd go over here. I appreciated that this was competitive, but it didn't seem like it had any reason to exist other than to give Shirakawa a victory.

Bang Bang Gang (Juice Robinson and Austin Gunn) def. MxM Collection

Bang Bang Gang had that brief feud with FTR over the AEW World Tag Team Championship at the end of last year and proceeded to completely disappear from AEW programming. Now they're pulling ROH duty with MxM Collection. Yeah, I'd consider that a downgrade. This was passable, but unless Bang Bang Gang go for the ROH World Tag Team Championship down the line, it was pointless.

Lacy Lane def. Robyn Renegade

I just thought of something stupid: What if Lacy Lane and Jacy Jane formed a tag team? Yes, they're in different companies, but just a thought. Would they need to enlist someone named Macy Mane? Okay, in all seriousness, this was whatever. Lane is right where she belongs in ROH, but beating someone of Renegade's status isn't going to get her very far in the long run.

AR Fox def. Lee Johnson, ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Champion Shane Taylor and "Daddy Magic" Matt Menard in a Four-Leaf Clover Four-Corner Survival Match to Earn an Immediate Championship Opportunity

I guess this is a new gimmick they're trying out. I'm all for doing something different, but immediately giving away a title match will almost never result in a title change. The four-way was well paced, and although it got an ample amount of time, I didn't have an issue with it here because of what was at stake. The outcome felt genuinely unpredictable, but Fox was the perfect person to pick up the win.

AEW International Champion and AEW World Trios Champion Kazuchika Okada def. AR Fox

The title shot was in a box for some reason. They wasted no time bringing out Okada so he could defend against Fox. It's worth noting that this was taped before he won the AEW World Trios Championship on Wednesday's Dynamite, hence why he didn't have that belt with him here. There was no reason to think Fox was actually beating Okada, but it was an entertaining main event for what it was with Fox excelling while fighting from underneath before eating defeat.

Overall Show

This was the first edition of ROH TV to emanate from the Jacksonville studio, which is apparently the new weekly home for the show. There are pros and cons. On one hand, the studio setting makes sense for ROH at this point and it could make it more enjoyable if they use it properly, but on the other hand, this crowd was quiet for most of the show and ROH TV wasn't presented much differently than it normally is. Having it run almost two hours wasn't the best idea, either. I have no desire for ROH TV to go back to being a marathon every week.

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