Ring of Honor Review - May 28, 2026

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

AEW National Champion Mark Davis def. Adam Priest

It's cool that Davis is actually defending the AEW National Championship across multiple promotions. Granted, Ring of Honor is still technically a part of AEW, but it's better than simply keeping it exclusive to AEW. Priest has evolved into more than just a generic jobber, so I had no issue with him being the one to get the shot. I thought they had a solid, well-worked match, even though the title was never in jeopardy of changing hands.

Anthony Ogogo def. Darian Bengston by Referee Stoppage

I have no idea why Ogogo is still a member of Shane Taylor Promotions considering how little he actually does and how infrequently he wrestles. I remember AEW trying to make him out to be a dominant badass years ago, but he's done absolutely nothing of note since. This seem to serve as a showcase for him, but even with the referee stoppage finish, I can't take him seriously. He's just there and his matches are meaningless.

Viva Van def. Rachael Ellering in a Pure Rules Match

It was refreshing seeing Van in a competitive contest for a change with Red Velvet for the ROH Women's World Television Championship at Supercard of Honor. Granted, she was unsuccessful, but it was a step in the right direction. Her winning here is an encouraging sign that her push isn't over yet. Pure Rules matches are usually pretty bland and this was no exception, but I was happy with the outcome.

Angelico def. "Main Man" Oro

​Giving Angelico any sort of a singles push in 2026 seems like a questionable call. Nothing against the guy, who is very talented, but he's been so devalued over the years that it's difficult to care. Then again, I guess I'll take him doing his own thing than continuing to team with Serpentico as a part of a team that will never be focused on. This was a fun sprint while it lasted.

Caprice Coleman Hosted a Sit-Down Interview with ROH Women's World Champion Athena

This was the most character development we've gotten from Athena in what feels like forever. Sure, she just successfully defended her ROH Women's World Championship against five other women at Supercard of Honor, but she's been stagnant as a character for a bit and this actually offered some insight into what her current motivations are. She came across extremely well, and we still have a second part to look forward to next week.

Maya World def. Trish Adora

This followed up on both women competing in Survival of the Fittest at Supercard of Honor. Both women have potential, but World has had the bigger push this year, so it made more sense for her to go over in my opinion. This was a nice match from them that allowed them to show off what they're capable of. Hopefully World is wearing gold of some kind at some point this year.

Stori Denali def. Brooke Havok

We hear from Mark Sterling before anything involving Premier Athletes and I'm not ashamed to say that I skip over his promo every single time. I'm sure I'm not missing anything. I'd prefer to see Denali get more matches like this so she can improve and hone her skills as opposed to being a background player for a lower-card tag team. This was thankfully short and sweet.

ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Champions Dalton Castle and The Ourtunners def. The Frat House (Jacked Jameson, Preston Vance and Griff Garrison) in an ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Championship Proving Ground Match

Frat House are always channel-changing material to me (a spot once occupied by Iron Savages), but I understand that they have their roles to play and this was a logical match to do with Castle and The Outrunners recently winning the six-man tag titles. It was what it needed to be. The Lethal Twist attacked the champs afterward, so that appears to be the next title feud.

The Lethal Twist (The Swirl and Jay Lethal) def. Il Cartello Grillo

Lethal Twist were interviewed by Ian Riccaboni immediately following their attack on Castle and The Outrunners and stuck around for their match with Il Cartello Grillo. This is the first time I've seen them together and apparently it's a group led by Rosario Grillo, a enhancement talent that never wins anything. Uhm, okay. I don't need to see that become a regular thing. The match was essentially a squash as it should have been.

ROH World Champion Bandido def. Volador Jr.

This was filmed at a recent CMLL event and had a capacity crowd compared to what we normally see on ROH TV. That atmosphere alone made this match feel like a big deal. You had to know Bandido wasn't losing the title (otherwise it would've been spoiled by now), but the match was very entertaining, nonetheless. They were given plenty of time and I was never bored.

ROH World Television Champion AR Fox def. Dezmond Xavier

This was Fox's third title defense since winning the ROH World Television Championship two weeks ago. That's awesome as well as a refreshing change of pace for a title that wasn't defended for nearly a year due to Nick Wayne being out injured. They must be making up for lost time. Regardless of the reason, this was a hell of a treat. Xavier has primarily been a singles star in AEW and ROH so far, so I appreciated seeing him on his own again.

Overall Show

Truthfully speaking, this was a two-match show: Bandido vs. Volador Jr. and Fox vs. Xavier. Everything else can easily be skipped over. I know that's normally the case with ROH TV, but at least there were two matches that stood out this week as opposed to none. The AEW National Championship being defended was also slightly notable despite Priest not having a chance of taking the title from Davis.

SEE MORE: ROH Reviews