Ring of Honor Review - May 23, 2024

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

ROH World Television Champion Kyle Fletcher def. London Lightning in an ROH World Television Championship Proving Ground Match

I genuinely do not understand why AEW/Ring of Honor does this sort of thing. Lightning, to my knowledge, is not under a contract to the company. He took Fletcher to the limit, and had he lasted another minute he would have earned himself a title shot. Why have Fletcher be so competitive with a jobber? Sure, he's talented, but there's enough talented people in ROH doing absolutely nothing right now. Fletcher is already booked like a stepping stone in AEW and this does very little to change that perception.

The Workhorsemen def. Spanish Announce Project

Anthony Henry was among those released from AEW back in early April, but Tony Khan later clarified that he'd be welcomed back once he was cleared to compete. Why was he let go in the first place, especially while injured? At least The Workhorsemen have reunited and won in their return here. I don't know why they faced a fellow babyface team, but it was a well-worked match and Cole Karter and Griff Garrison costing Spanish Announce Table the victory furthers that feud.

Nyla Rose def. Riea Von Slasher

Another week, another Nyla Rose squash. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad she's being booked to look dominant, but as I've said several times, I'm ready for whatever is next for her. I assume that involves the ROH Women's World Television Championship, but she hasn't even so much as hinted toward that because she hasn't been given any mic time. These wins need to amount to something eventually.

Satnam Singh def. Jimmy Jacobs

Jacobs originally returned to ROH in September after not competing for the promotion since 2015. He's been referred to as an ROH "legend," but aside from the excessive amount of pyro he received here, he certainly come off as one. Singh demolished him in under a minute. Singh lost to Bryan Danielson by disqualification on Dynamite and I understand they're trying to make him a thing, but it's just not happening, no matter how hard they try.

Shane Taylor Promotions (Shane Taylor and Anthony Ogogo) def. Jon Cruz and Artemis Spencer

Ogogo was off television for so long that I think he's pretty much a lost cause at this point. I don't mind him being a part of Shane Taylor Promotions, but they're not much of a threat when they constantly lose on AEW TV and don't appear to be on the verge of challenging for the ROH World Tag Team Championship. In other words, this was completely pointless if it doesn't actually lead to anything for them.

"Daddy Magic" Matt Menard def. ROH World Tag Team Champion Mike Bennett

It's about time The Undisputed Kingdom did something other than beat an enhancement team. Menard and Angelo Parker noted in a backstage segment a few weeks ago that they had the ROH World Tag Team Championship in their sights, so this match made sense. They were going to get a title shot regardless, but this gave Menard a minor momentum boost before then in what was a solid match. Where was Parker to make the save for Menard afterward?

Top Flight, Action Andretti and Lee Johnson def. Griff Garrison, Cole Karter and Premier Athletes (Tony Nese and Ari Daivari)

This was a refreshing change of pace compared to the Four Corner Survival main events we get way too often on this show. Granted, this was just another variation of a multi-match match, but I'll take what I can get. It was nicely paced and had some fun moments, which was unsurprising given the level of talent on the babyface side. Spanish Announce Project were also able to get a measure of revenge on Garrison and Karter from earlier in the episode.

Overall Show

I've said it before, but I applaud Tony Khan for making ROH TV a shorter show over the last month. An hour is way more bearable than 90 minutes/two hours for a show that has little substance. I assume that's due to AEW's current taping schedule, but I hope it sticks. It was a pretty average episode with nothing of note happening, but at least a few of the matches weren't total squashes.

SEE MORE: ROH Reviews