Ring of Honor Review - November 7, 2024

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

The Infantry def. Tom Mitchell and Trace Parker

The Infantry were accompanied by Shane Taylor here after they officially joined Shane Taylor Promotions last week. I'm in favor of the move, especially if it means they're going to win more matches and ideally work their way back to ROH World Tag Team Championship contention (they hinted at it in a backstage segment later on in the show). This was a standard showcase to keep them rolling.

Spanish Announce Project def. LSG and Shawn Donavan

Spanish Announce Project just lost to The Infantry last week, but this allowed them to bounce back. There wasn't anything out of the ordinary about it, but it accomplished what it needed to. I will say that the double submission finish was pretty cool, though. I wouldn't mind Spanish Announce Project adopting that for future matches because not many teams do that to my knowledge, at least in AEW/Ring of Honor.

ROH World Tag Team Champion Sammy Guevara def. Preston Vance

This is the type of match I want to see more of on ROH TV. Both guys are notable names by ROH standards, so it was competitive and the outcome feels a little less predictable. Granted, Vance has done absolutely nothing since splitting from La Faccion Ingobernable, but this was better than Guevara beating your average enhancement talent. I forgot to mention this previously, but I'm glad Guevara wasn't sidelined too long following his recent injury scare.

Lee Johnson and EJ Nduka def. Philly Collins and Marino Tenaglia

Johnson and Nduka have quickly developed quality chemistry as partners. ROH doesn't have the deepest tag team division, so they're a welcome addition. This was another straightforward win for them as they look to work their way through the tag teams ranks. Honestly, I saw screw the ROH World Tag Team Championship and instead pair them with The Hurt Syndicate.

Diamante def. Rachael Ellering

Diamante's quest to become ROH Women's World Television Championship continues and I appreciate that she got to beat someone actually on the roster here. She and Ellering had a well-wrestled match and the win gave Diamante an additional credibility boost. Post-match, Red Velvet returned to brawl with Diamante, so their championship rematch appears to be imminent.

"Legit" Leyla Hirsch def. Tina San Antonio

This marked Hirsch's first appearance since July's Death Before Dishonor pay-per-view, where she beat Diamante in that brutal Texas Death match. Apparently she was out injured after that, but I'm glad she's back. Hopefully she can pick up where she left off and start building momentum again. This was a basic squash to get her back on the right track, and like the other squashes on this show, it didn't overstay its welcome.

Tomohiro Ishii def. Aaron Solo

Ishii pinned Chris Jericho in that six-man tag team Fight Without Honor on Wednesday's Dynamite, so he's obviously next in line for an ROH World Championship opportunity. The problem is, he already unsuccessfully challenged Jericho for that very title two years ago and I have little interest in a rematch. Despite that, it makes sense to keep Ishii more wins before they meet for the title and that's exactly why this existed. I just wish it was slightly shorter. There was no need for Solo to take Ishii to the limit.

The Righteous and ROH World Tag Team Champions Sammy Guevara and ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Champion Dustin Rhodes Brawled

The Righteous were making their way to the ring for a match when they were attacked by Rhodes and Guevara, so whatever match The Righteous were going to have didn't end up happening. We don't typically see this sort of stuff on ROH TV, so I thought it was a refreshing chance of pace and an effective way to heat up the feud a bit more with the babyfaces getting their revenge from last week.

Nick Wayne def. Ryan Clancy

Considering Wayne is a regular on AEW TV as a member of The Patriarchy, I was shocked he gave up so much offense to Clancy, a non-contracted talent. However, I'm not complaining. I've seen Clancy wrestle in person on the northeast indie scene and the guy can go, not to mention he has a unique throwback look to him. He got over with the audience here and it actually made for a fun match even though the outcome was never in doubt.

AR Fox def. Josh Woods

Give Fox more television time, dammit! He's been teasing something with Wayne recently in AEW given their history from last year, which is better than nothing. Letting him "cook" (as the kids say) on ROH TV isn't an awful idea, either. He shined here and the finishing sequence in particular looked awesome. Fox is a special talent and I love whenever he can show off his skills.

Katsuyori Shibata def. The Butcher

I know Shibata has some star power compared to the rest of the ROH roster, but this still felt out of place as the main event of the show. Butcher doesn't have bad matches, but the guy never really wins on his own, so it's impossible to care about him as a character. He gave Shibata a bit of a fight, but this was no different than almost any other match on this show otherwise. It was a strange choice to put this on last.

Overall Show

This was an automatic improvement over last week's episode, if only because it a full hour shorter. There was another pointless replay of an old match in the middle and I have no idea why, but the rest of the show was serviceable. ROH TV is doing a better job from week to week of developing feuds, but there are still way too many squashes to make these overly-lengthy shows worthwhile.

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