Ring of Honor Review - March 8, 2021

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Josh "The Goods" Woods def. Dalton Castle in a Pure Rules Match

The pre-match sit-down interviews from the talent continue to be excellent. Woods mentioned his previous wins over Jay Lethal as well as over Castle, while Castle said that if he lost again, he could potentially be done. That was an interesting line because it was reported at the beginning of the year that his contract with Ring of Honor had expired, so this may have been designed to pave the way for him leaving. Either way, this was another enjoyable outing from them with the right outcome. Silas Young emerged afterward and teased him and Woods rejoining the tag team ranks, but I'd rather see Woods ride this momentum into the ROH Pure Championship picture.

Jay Lethal def. Matt Taven, Jay Briscoe and EC3 in a ROH World Championship No. 1 Contender's Four Corner Survival Match

We haven't seen a ton of EC3 in the ring in ROH and I don't think he's won a single match yet, which is odd (though it is worth noting he has yet to be pinned). You had to know he and Briscoe would cancel each other because of their feud heading into Final Battle while Taven has been busy with Vincent and his faction lately, so Lethal made the most sense to win. This was a fun four-way with some entertaining action and solid storytelling with EC3 attempted to show Briscoe what honor is. Lethal vs. Rush for the ROH World Championship at the 19th Anniversary Show (assuming that's where it takes place) should be great and it's also logical when you consider how The Foundation and La Faccion Ingobernable have been feuding for a while now.

Overall Show

This was a really good show with two quality, meaningful matches. Woods continues to build momentum and has reunited with Young (for better or for worse, we'll soon see), Lethal earned a title shot against Rush, and Briscoe vs. EC3 and Taven vs. Vincent also feel like they're locked in for the 19th Anniversary Show. Additionally, Dak Draper vs. Fred Yehi in a Pure Rules match, Tony Deppen vs. Kenny King, and Flamita vs. Flip Gordon were all advertised for next week's show. This was a strong piece of business all around.