Ring of Honor Review - November 23, 2020

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

EC3 def. Jay Briscoe by Disqualification

The match went all of two minutes before Briscoe got himself disqualified for punching EC3 in the corner of the ring for too long. Obviously, it was a disappointing finish, but I wouldn't call the match a waste of time. Yes, Ring of Honor should have made a bigger deal over this being the first-ever one-on-one encounter between these two, but at least the feud isn't over. They went at it afterward and Briscoe cussed out EC3 in a post-match backstage interview, so I like how they're making it personal and not just a friendly competition. Neither guy has been clearly defined as a heel, but it doesn't matter because the eventual rematch will feel like a marquee matchup if ROH can continue to play up the bad blood between them.

ROH World Tag Team Champion Jay Lethal def. LSG by Judges' Decision in a Pure Rules Match

LSG was formerly one-half of Coast to Coast, a tag team with a ton of potential that the company unfortunately never fully capitalized on. Hell, they once beat War Machine (now known as The Viking Raiders in WWE) and went nowhere after that. ROH can't right those wrongs, but I'm all for LSG getting more spotlight as a singles star. He shined in that pre-match video package. I got to know more about him there than I did at any other point while he was in Coast to Coast. Lethal's video package was also well done and the match that followed was very entertaining. LSG took Lethal to the literal limit as they ran out of time and Lethal was just barely awarded the win by way of the judges' decision. I wouldn't be surprised if LSG comes calling for a rematch and I'd definitely be down for it. Lethal is in elevation mode at this stage of his career while still maintaining his own credibility, and LSG will be one to keep an eye out for going forward.

Matt Taven def. Bateman; Mike Bennett Returned

I didn't care for Bateman at all when he initially arrived on the ROH scene last year, but his pairing with Vincent has grown on me and now I'm a fan of the tandem. This match wasn't given a ton of time, but he did score some offense before Taven beat him. The real story was what happened afterward with Vincent and Bateman attacking Taven and the returning Mike Bennett making the save. Obviously, Taven and Bennett were the original Kingdom years ago and it's awesome that they've finally reunited in ROH. Needless to say, Taven and Bennett vs. Vincent and Bateman is inevitable and I'm looking forward to it.

Overall Show

I can't stress enough how much more enjoyable the format of the weekly show has been since its relaunch in September. The ROH Pure Championship Tournament was tremendous, but there was a question of whether the promotion would be able to sustain that momentum coming out of it and so far they have. EC3 is around and has a set direction in his program with Jay Briscoe, Taven and Vincent are rekindling their rivalry and now Mike Bennet is back, the Pure Rules matches have exceeded my expectations, and new stars are in the process of being made. There isn't a ton more I can ask for than that aside from more matches being advertised in advance for the following week. That's one thing they can improve upon, but otherwise, ROH TV has been fun to follow and it's only going to get better with more people such Rush and Dragon Lee returning in the near future.