Ring of Honor Review - October 24, 2024

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

The Gates of Agony def. The Infantry

Now that Brian Cage is ROH World Television Champion, I'd love to see Gates of Agony get an actual push in the tag team division. However, I'm not holding my breath seeing as how Ring of Honor hasn't really prioritized its tag team division since ROH TV was relaunched. This was a competitive contest between two quality teams with the correct outcome. The Infantry are fun to watch, but it's clear they're not going to get beyond a certain level because of their booking.

Reyna Isis def. Viva Van

I assumed this would be a showcase for Van, who has made plenty of appearances on ROH TV in the past. Thus, I was pleasantly surprised by the outcome. I've honestly never heard of Isis until now, but I thought she had a solid showing. Here's hoping we see more of her on ROH TV and doesn't just disappear. It's important to give her a string of wins so she can start to build credibility in ROH.

Rocky Romero def. Brandon Cutler

I have to resist the urge to turn the show off whenever Cutler shows up cutting a promo. Thankfully, he's barely on AEW programming these days, but I don't have a desire to see him on ROH TV, either. Romero never wins whenever it matters most it seems, so it makes sense for him to beat a guy like Cutler. There was nothing wrong with the match from an in-ring standpoint, but I couldn't bring myself to care.

Lee Johnson and EJ Nduka def. Bret Hankins and Jiah Jewell

Johnson and Nduka formed an alliance while feuding with Jacoby Watts and Nick Comoroto, but thankfully, the feud was cut short once Comoroto got hurt. That allows Johnson and Enduka to move on and start racking up wins in the tag team division. Both guys have potential, but their best chance at success is probably together for the time being. This was a standard showcase for them.

Abadon Crashed ROH Women's World Champion Athena's Celebration

I swear we saw this same segment a year ago and it ended almost the exact same way. Billie Starkz turned on Athena a year ago to set up their match at Final Battle, whereas Starkz simply walked out on Athena here. If this is building to Starkz beating Athena for the ROH Women's World Championship at Final Battle, then I have no idea why they didn't just do that a year ago. I imagine Abadon will get her shot at the title before then.

ROH World Television Champion Brian Cage def. Komander

I liked that Komander earned this opportunity by winning a number one contender's match last week. Yes, they could have held the match a little later down the line and given it some more build, but ROH doesn't do that sort of stuff these days, so I can't say I expected anything different. At any rate, this was an enjoyable main event while it lasted, even if Komander had virtually no chance of winning.

Overall Show

This week's replay was Athena vs. Mercedes Martinez for the ROH Women's World Championship from Final Battle 2022, which was when Athena's record-setting reign kicked off. It was fitting for the episode with Athena having yet another championship celebration. The rest of the show was under an hour and was perfectly serviceable. The undercard was whatever, but championship main events are always appreciated.

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